Mayday
by jenson40
Summary: Literati AU mid-season 7. She had been at his door in the rain; a baby on her hip. She had no one. She was a cliché. But he knew, even with all their baggage and issues in the past, he had to help her. Because she needed him like he needed her. Together, they were the best kind of cliché.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: The idea for this story came to me when I was watching Bones, and Hodgins told Angela that he would be that guy for her when she thought she was pregnant and she had planned to go it alone since she thought her boyfriend wouldn't be able to handle it. Turns out she wasn't pregnant, but still the idea stuck with me. Ok, so I must tell you that this story may be a bit more erratic in the posting since not all of it is finished yet, but I do have a couple days off soon, so we'll see how far I get before the next chapter. Well, enjoy and please please please review so I know if you want me to continue this story. I am really gonna need feedback on this one. Happy reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

No one had been there. No one.

She had imagined it so different. Her mother holding back tears; Luke being where her father probably wouldn't. Her baby's father smiling down at her with pride. She had even planned for her grandparents to be there (they not doubt would have been). All of that should have been true. But it wasn't.

She did it alone. Her mother not at her side; Luke not being her father figure. She didn't even want to think about where her baby's father was. Well, she knew, but she wasn't sure where they stood. Her grandparents hadn't been there; they had turned up their noses (mainly her grandmother) when she had told them about the father. How she couldn't go back. Not to that. Not to him. They believed she was throwing her life away, and maybe she was.

However, when she looked upon the face of her baby girl, it didn't all seem so bad. Her daughter, whom she had named after herself like her mother before her. Though now, it seemed maybe the demurral might have played a major part in the naming of her child. She had been thinking of how right her mother had been in the fact that men named their sons after themselves, so she named her daughter after herself. Lorelai Lynn Gilmore.

Rory looked around the room of machines, and tried, oh how she tried, to hold back her tears. Her mother wasn't there, neither was Luke. Her grandparents hated her, and she didn't know a thing about her baby's father. She felt the room closing in on her, and she just needed to get out. She thrust her arm up to try and move from the bed, and she remembered the IVs and other wires clinging to her body. She groaned, but covered her mouth with her hands when she remembered her baby.

Rory's blue eyes trailed to the bassinet, making the tears come. She was lying in a hospital bed, alone. No one had shown up for the birth of her daughter. She had gotten into a fight with her mother just after they had patched things up, and once again they were not on speaking terms. Her grandparents had shunned her the second she had broken up with Logan, and not even one of her friends had known. The only person to keep her company was her baby.

Sobs wracked her tired body, and she hoped that she didn't wake up her newborn. She felt like she was giving up everything. She felt like her life had taken a turn for the worst, and nothing was going to fix it. She hadn't even graduated Yale like she promised. Her second break, and she couldn't go back after this one. She needed help, but there was no one to grant her with it. A cry of anguish ripped through her very core just as a nurse was walking by her room.

The woman, who looked so matronly, stepped in as the baby let out her own cry. She picked up the baby, and walked towards Rory who couldn't even bring herself to look at the child. "Hey, now." The woman's warm green eyes searched Rory's face. She softly wiggled the baby around in her arms and smiled. Rory looked away, didn't even reach for her crying newborn. "Are you alone?" She turned her attention to the new mother.

Rory nodded when the nurse, Linda was what her name tag read, sat down on the side of the bed. "Do you know how to feed her?" Linda asked when the blonde baby moved her head around looking for something to suckle on. Rory nodded her head again, and took her baby from the nurse's arms. "What's her name?" She asked, pushing a strand of silvery blonde hair behind her ear.

"Lola." Rory murmured, mesmerized with her daughter. She had already fed her a few times, but just looking at the baby in general filled her eyes with awe. Linda smiled a little brighter. The mother's blue eyes once again filled with tears when her daughter fell asleep. Linda waited, letting her hold the child a bit longer before putting her in the bassinet. She felt her tears increase when Lola was taken from her arms. "I'm all alone." She whispered, trying profusely to wipe the tears from her eyes.

Linda moved a bit closer on the bed, and placed her hand on Rory's shoulder. Her blue eyes flew to the motherly woman's green, and she let her envelope her in a hug. Linda held her while her body shook with sobs. Rory didn't even know this woman, but she felt indebted to her. "It's going to be ok." She pulled her closer when another round of sobs started.

"I-I don't know if-if I should d-do this…" Rory stated. Linda pulled away, and searched the younger girl's face. She noticed how Rory's eyes flicked to her daughter's sleeping form, how her eyes welled up with more tears after saying that.

"That's not what you want." She whispered. Rory shook her head. No, it wasn't. She had been blessed with an amazing mother who had done it all on her own. She knew she had to do the same for her daughter. It didn't mean that she couldn't doubt her abilities. "Then keep her. Be the mama you want to be. Children are a gift; I should know I have five of my own. Give your baby the best life you can give her. Because you know that your life won't be complete unless that baby, Lola, is in your life. You won't be alone for long. All things work out in the end."

Finally, something give her determination. She could do it. She could be the mother she wanted Lola to have. She was going to do it. But she couldn't do it alone. Linda hugged her one last time then walked out to do her rounds. Rory was grateful for the woman who had comforted her in her time of need, but now she needed someone permanent. She couldn't do this alone.

She also couldn't stay there much longer. She had been released, and when she got into her car she didn't know where to go. She couldn't go back to Logan's apartment. He wasn't there, and there were too many bad memories. She couldn't go to her mother since they weren't on speaking terms. She did have to get out of this parking lot though. So she put her car in drive, took a look at the baby in the backseat, and drove.

She drove away from it all. She was halfway to her destination when she realized she was crazy. She felt the tears rolling down her face, and she pulled over. She looked at Lola, still sleeping peacefully. Once again, Rory didn't know what to do.

 **XXX**

He had heard rustling. All he heard was rustling. Something was close to his door, and he didn't like it. It was probably something dumb, like a racoon, but damn was it annoying. There wasn't anything he could do about it. Especially in the storm that had hit them, leaving no visibility. He hated nature.

He finally got up to do something about it. He had heard a knock at the door, and realized this was as good a time as any to go look around. He yanked the door open forcefully, and stopped when the person at his door jumped. She was there. Her hair plastered to her face from the rain. Her gorgeous blue eyes red and puffy from crying. He only saw the helpless look on her face before ushering her into his apartment.

She was soaked to the skin, but the object she held in her arms was as dry as a desert. The object in her arms gave a soft mew in protest to being held so tightly, and Rory softened her hold. Jess watched her with amaze and confusion in his eyes. She was here, in Philadelphia, ten months since they had last spoken, with a baby. Her eyes met his, and she fought back tears. She lost the fight. She was reduced to a sniveling mess when he took a step towards her.

"I ha-had nowhere else to-to… I just got out of the hospita-al, and I-I didn't…" She cried. Jess took another step towards her. Broken, a shell of the woman he had once known. Her hold on the baby tightened slightly when he pulled her in for a hug. He made sure to be mindful of her daughter, but he held her as close as possible while she cried.

She was brought from sobs when the baby started to cry herself. She sounded helpless, like how Rory felt. Lola's cries were insistent, and Rory felt to make sure there wasn't anything coming from the diaper. Of course, the baby would be hungry. The brunette's eyes flicked up to Jess's, and he understood what was happening. "I'll be right back…" He left the room in a hurry.

He walked into his room, and began rummaging through his drawers while he waited for Rory to finish. She was going to need something dry to wear if she didn't want to get sick. Jess looked around for something that would be fit for a woman. Eventually, he grabbed his Distillers t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants too small that he had never been able to get rid of. He thought he heard her finish, and took that as the time to walk into his living room.

She was sitting so peacefully on the couch, or so he thought. In all seriousness, she was crying yet again, clutching her daughter close to her chest. Jess sauntered to where she sat, and placed himself right in front of her face. She looked at him sadly, her eyes hollow. "You should change." He held out the clothes. She looked between his soft smile and the clothes in his hand. She shivered, indicating how cold she really was. "Bathroom's over there." He pointed, and she nodded.

She looked around, unsure of where to place her baby while she changed. She had been stupid and forgotten the car seat in the car when she made her final mad dash for his door. Rory eyed him curiously when he placed the clothes on the couch and held out his hands. She carefully placed the baby in his arms, which felt incredibly warm brushing against her cold skin. "Lola," She watched the newborn's eyes flutter. "Her name is Lola."

Jess nodded, and held Lola like she was precious treasure. Which she was, considering she was Rory's daughter. He had only held his sister once, so being entrusted with someone's child was nerve wracking. He didn't tell that to the woman who had trusted him enough. He didn't want to give her a reason to run away.

Inside the bathroom, Rory felt more tears prick at her eyes when she saw the t-shirt he had picked. It must not of crossed his mind while trying to find her clothes, but it played at her emotions. The concert he had taken her to, the concert that solidified their relationship. She didn't think about it further as she slipped it on. She draped her wet clothes over the bathtub, and gave her face a hard scrub with a wash cloth. She was a mess.

She felt her hair drip down her back as she walked into Jess's living room. She stopped short when she saw him holding her daughter. Her two-day old daughter, and he was holding her. He was the first person, besides herself and the nurses, to hold Lola. He was the only person connected to her life that was holding her daughter. She nearly doubled over in agony. She felt a pang from her heart thinking about her old life. She was giving it all up.

"C-could you, uh, could you get her car seat from my car?" Rory pulled his attention away from the baby. Jess nodded, and handed her Lola with the utmost care. She snuggled her daughter close as she watched him walk out the door. She kissed her blonde head and waited for him to return. A few minutes passed, and Rory began to get worried. She was afraid that he had…

Her fears were calmed when Jess waltzed back in. He was now soaked, but holding a relatively dry baby seat. "These things are impossible." He exasperated. Rory nodded like she knew what he was talking about. She didn't. She had gotten someone else to help put it in for her, and she hadn't taken it out yet. They were both nodding awkwardly.

Jess finally sprang into action when Rory yawned. "I h-have another room." He nodded toward the guest room he had thought a good idea at the time. At least now, it would be used. She tried to smile, but it came as more of a grimace as he led the way. Jess opened a door, and Rory had to make sure her face didn't reflect her disappointment. The room was very small, barely big enough for the bed in it, but she couldn't be picky.

"I'll let you get to sleep." He whispered, trying to think of ways to spruce up the room. Rory nodded, a ghost of a smile playing at her lips. She placed the sleeping Lola in her car seat on the floor before turning around. Jess was surprised at how quickly she had come to face him.

"I, uh… Thank you." She whispered. Jess nodded, and waved his hand like it was nothing. He was surprised when she wrapped his arms around her. Her face was buried in his chest, and he knew that she was no doubt trying to keep her tears at bay. He kissed her hair, something he never thought he would do again, hugging her tighter.

"Goodnight, Rory." He pulled away. She nodded her head solemnly; she liked the way it felt to melt into his embrace. Rory fell onto the small bed Jess was letting her sleep on, and barely got underneath the covers when sleep took her. She hadn't realized how tired she was until now. She hadn't realized how little she had slept in the past two days. She didn't realize Jess was watching her every move, hoping to take away her pain.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I could have posted this tomorrow, but I didn't. I really like writing this, so I thought hey might grace y'all with this story sooner. Also, this is kind of based on "She used to be mine" from Waitress. I just finished writing this chapter, so that's why I wanted to send it in. I really like it, and I hope you do too! Happy Sunday, happy reading, and please review!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Lola woke up too many times to count that night. Rory was constantly getting up to change or feed or do something with her newborn daughter to ensure she slept well. At one point, she had been so tired she thought she had seen Jess in there rocking Lola. He had told her to go back to sleep, and she did. Only to wake up nearly an hour later, thinking it must have been a dream. It had to have been a dream. It was too good to be true.

Rory couldn't go back to sleep after five that morning, so she stumbled out into Jess's kitchen in search of sustenance. She was surprised to see him already awake and sipping a cup of coffee. Oh, how she wished she could drink coffee. He nodded towards her and slid a cup her way. She gazed at it longingly before shaking her head. "It's decaf." He took another sip. Rory finally gave in when she caught a whiff of the drink of the gods.

She tried to not inhale the drink, but that failed miserably when she tasted it for the first time in nine months. Rory felt Jess's eyes on her as she downed the coffee, but she tried her hardest to ignore him. She knew what he was thinking; she didn't want to talk about what he was thinking. She heard him sigh and pushed back a manuscript of some sort. "What happened?" He broke the silence.

Blue eyes met brown, and she knew that she couldn't hide the truth from him. Obviously, he had already seen her daughter. "I got pregnant." She whispered. Jess scoffed.

"No shit, Sherlock." He looked at her sincerely. She hoped the dam wouldn't break again. "What happened?" His tone was softer than his comment before, and she tried to avoid looking at him. She didn't want him to be ashamed of her; she didn't want him to kick her out too.

"I don't know…" She took a deep breath, willing herself to meet his eyes. They were filled with concern, and dare she say, love. "It was dumb. I g-got into a fight with my mom. Logan was heading to London, and I knew, I just knew that he wasn't ready to be a father. Mom backed me up on that, but sh-she was so angry with me when I said I couldn't go back to Yale." Rory waited for him to yell at her. To scream, to shout, to kick the table, to wake up Lola. It didn't come.

"What do you mean you couldn't go back to Yale?" He asked softly, but she could still hear the little bit of annoyance in his voice. All he had told her went in one ear and out the other.

"I thought I could, but a month ago I knew it wasn't going to happen. And I broke up with Logan. My grandparents were beyond pissed. They told me, well, Grandma told me, that I was throwing my life away just like Mom had. I h-had to get out!" She raised her voice like she had to defend herself. Though, she never had to, not with him. He nodded, not tearing his eyes away from her reddening face. "I had no one… I'm sorry." Tears fell from her gorgeous blue eyes, escaping after being contained for too long.

Jess practically threw his chair down in his attempt to be by her side. He knelt beside her and pulled her into his arms. She fell to the floor in a heap, and he made sure to hold her close to his chest while she sobbed. Her body shook as she clung to him. He rested his chin atop her chestnut locks, trying to keep from shouting. Shouting at the world for ruining _the_ Rory Gilmore. Jess was close to telling her how she had nothing to be sorry about when he heard a shrill, baby's cry coming from the guest room.

Rory's head shot up, and she couldn't bring herself to go to Lola. He saw the cogs whirling in her head. "I've got it." He whispered into her hair before standing. She nodded slowly, and let out another sob as she watched him walk away. Jess crept into the room, and had refrain from placing his hands over his ears. He looked down into the baby seat, and couldn't help but smile. Lola was a cute baby, even if she was screaming her head off for her mother.

She did quiet down when he scooped her up. That made him smile even more. The brunet carried her carefully into the kitchen, and he watched as Rory reached for the baby. Her sobs quieted when she felt her daughter in her arms, and she felt a smile begin to creep its way onto her face. Jess let out a soft sigh of relief and slid down onto the floor next to her. Lola had officially stopped crying, a relief to the adults in the kitchen.

"Why do I feel like I made a mistake?" Rory's voice was thick from her crying. Jess looked between her and the baby, holding back a grin when Lola smiled up at him. His eyes came back up to stare into hers; they were filled with so much worry.

"You didn't." He whispered. Her gaze fell on the baby's smiling face. Lola wasn't a mistake. She came at a difficult time, but Jess had said this wasn't a mistake. He had to be right about that. "You're not." As soon as he said that, Lola started to whine. Her face crumpled up, and her legs started to flail. Rory's hand flew to the baby's bottom, and she groaned slightly.

"She's wet." The way that she had known immediately what her daughter needed only reassured Jess that Rory wasn't making a mistake. From the way her eyes met his, he could tell she knew it too. "Can you hold her?" She asked. He nodded and walked around trying to calm the blonde baby with bouncing.

A second later, Rory came back into the kitchen without the items she needed. Once again, her eyes filled with tears, and Jess moved in a way to hug her. "I didn't get enough diapers…" She was so far successful in not crying again that morning. She had to leave that up to Lola. Jess nodded, moving to grab his keys. He then handed Lola back to Rory, and he walked to the extra room.

"Let's go." He indicated to the door with the hand holding the baby carrier. Rory pulled at his arm, and he thought for a moment that she was going to protest. Instead, she took the carrier from his hand and began putting Lola inside. He waited patiently, watching her blue eyes light up as she spoke in soft tones to try and quiet the baby.

Rory turned around to face him, a smile finally gracing her features. She looked beautiful to him. Even with puffy, tear ringed eyes, her hair mussed up from sleep, the clothes she wore too large. It didn't matter, she was and always would be beautiful in his eyes. He stood in awe while she walked passed him to the door. She whipped her head around to smirk at him sarcastically, and he quickly followed behind. He led her to his car then grabbed the baby seat to place it in the back.

The whole ride Lola whimpered and wailed. Jess was going to need some ibuprofen along with the diapers. He looked over to see Rory rubbing at her temples before opening to car door. He grabbed the nearest cart as the new mother walked toward him with the baby seat. She placed it in the child seat portion, and she made funny faces in an attempt to calm down Lola. In the end, she amused Jess more than the baby.

Rory could tell that all eyes were on them with Lola screaming like that. Jess led her to what he believed to be the diaper aisle, and he was glad that he was correct. He noticed Rory visibly relax, and she grabbed for a box. She threw it into the cart, and Jess let his eyes wander around the aisle as she walked off. "I'm going to go pay for these and change her."

"Here." He handed her his wallet. Her eyes widened, and she began to shake her head. "Take it." Jess insisted. Rory looked between him, the wallet, Lola, and the diapers before nodding. He ran a hand through his hair as he sighed. His dark eyes trailed over the different baby things in the aisle. He fingered at a onesie with glasses and a stack of books. His lips upturned to a smile, and he knew that he had to get this despite the fact that Rory would force him to return it.

He continued throughout the entirety of the baby aisles grabbing things he thought were useful and things that were just for fun. Jess couldn't even see over the stack of items he held when Rory returned with a now sleeping Lola. "Jess…" Her tone was a cross between annoyed and endeared. He tried to look around to see her face, but failed when a small pair of socks fell from the top of the pile.

He stumbled to the cart, practically throwing everything inside. Both winced when they thought he had possibly woken up Lola. He hadn't, so they let out breaths of relief. Rory eyed him warily and sifted through the items in the cart. Her eyes lit up when she saw the onesie with the books. He knew he had made a good decision. After she had finished, Jess took hold of the cart and led her down another aisle. This time one full of women's clothes.

"No." Rory protested. Her hands waved wildly to show her disapproval. Jess shook his head, and despite her wishes continued to drag her down the aisle. "No, you've done enough." She told him.

"Ror, how much did you bring with you?" He knew the answer, but he wanted to hear her say it. Admit that it was ok for him to buy her clothes. Admit that she needed more than just a place to stay. Her eyes said it all. She looked at the clothes, mentally picking out the things she liked. Jess waited for her answer which came in an incredibly small nod. He smiled at her, and let her roam free while he watched Lola.

She picked out three pairs of pants, five shirts, and a sweatshirt. Her eyes widened, and her cheeks reddened when she thought about the undergarments she would need. She most definitely didn't want Jess seeing those. "You can go look around somewhere else." Rory offered. Jess asked with his eyes if she was sure, and he began to walk away when he saw the steely blue color in her eyes. He was off to find the books.

With Jess gone, Rory could get what she needed. She waited for him to be far enough away before walking towards bras and underwear. With anyone else it would have felt fine, but with him it was just weird. He had never seen her that way, and she knew that with her body the way it was now she didn't want anyone seeing her that way. She got a few packs of socks to go along with the bras and panties she had gotten. She then remembered how she was going to need shoes.

Rory felt awkward without the cart, but made do. She didn't know what she would be doing for the next week, so she opted for the simplest and cheapest option. Tennis shoes. She was thankful that the swelling in her ankles had gone down considerably since Lola was born, and she grabbed a white pair that would match everything she had bought. That Jess had bought, or was going to be buying. With the necessities of finding someplace to stay, and now buying clothes completely kept Rory from thinking about her need for toiletries.

Her hands were too full to go get those things on her own, so she went out looking for Jess and Lola. She didn't take long. Rory knew him well enough that he would be in the book section, and she as well was quite good at finding out where those places were. She smiled brightly when she saw him move between looking at books and jiggling something in front of Lola's face. Rory watched him smile down at her baby, and her heart hurt.

"You've got quite the stack." Jess observed from down the aisle. Rory stepped towards the cart, and nodded.

"I have to go get some toiletries, but my hands were full." She sheepishly told him. Jess smiled at her, a genuine smile, with a look in his eyes.

"Don't worry. You can get anything you want," He placed the book he had been looking at back on the shelf. He picked up another one, but she was unable to see the cover. "I got a really good commission on my second book." He flipped the book around, and his grin widened when she gasped loudly. Her eyes held a look that he knew hadn't been there in a long time.

"No way!" She gushed. "And this one is like in a legit store." Jess scoffed in mock offense.

"Truncheon is a legit store." He held up the object he had been waving in Lola face. It was now identifiable as a little Ernest Hemmingway plushy; Rory wondered where he had found it since she hadn't seen anything of the likes.

"You know what I meant. It's not author distributed. It's in Walmart, that means that people who aren't weirdo hippies will actually find it. I knew that people would love your books. You should sign it!" Finally, she was feeling a little bit like her old self. It made Jess happy to see Rory as Rory again. Her mouth was going a mile a minute, and he chuckled when she began writing a review next to it.

"You haven't even read it yet!" He protested. Rory giggled.

"I read _The Subsect_. They're both by you, why would I need to read it first?" She continued to write the review. Jess gave up protesting when he saw how happy it made her. She finished writing the review, and jumped to give him a hug. He nearly fell over, chuckling when they got their balance back. "I have to go get that other stuff, and don't run off with my baby while I'm gone. I see how you're smitten with her!" She glanced behind to see him beaming and shaking his head.

Rory took a left down the shampoo aisle, and sighed dreamily thinking about taking a shower. She didn't want to think of how she looked or smelled. She grabbed a matching set of shampoo and conditioner that smelled too good to be real then continued to smell the body washes. She finally got all the things she needed for washing herself, and Rory went to look at other grooming tools. She grabbed a brush that had a tag saying that the squishy part glowed in the dark, an automatic deal breaker. She also grabbed some hair ties.

She found Jess still in the book aisle, and showed him the gaudy colors of things she picked out. Rory saw him roll his eyes playfully before taking them from her hands. He then pushed the cart towards the front of the store. "But I want to buy your book!" Rory pouted as he moved his head towards the cash registers.

"I have a bajillion copies at home, you can have one of those." That seemed to satisfy her. She had a bit more of a spring in her step on the way to the cash registers. Especially, when all the people walking around complimented Lola. Her smile was so wide it looked like her face was going to break.

They found an open line, and Jess started placing things on the conveyer belt. He avoided looking at the unmentionables, but he did watch her eyes glow with happiness when he put on the baby objects he had bought. They were all things that would be needed, and judging from her reaction she hadn't gotten those things herself. She stifled a gasp when she saw the pac-n-play that she had somehow missed. "We came for diapers and left with the entire baby aisle." She laughed. Jess smiled.

"You guys are so cute!" The cashier grinned at them. "And your baby is adorable." She made a funny face at Lola.

"We're not together…" Rory told the cashier awkwardly. The teenager checking out their items stopped, and looked between the two adults.

"I'm, uh, sorry… I'll ring up the rest of your items." She did that a bit more quickly, and Jess looked at Rory. Her cheeks were rouge, and he held himself felt awkward. "H-have a nice day!" The cashier smiled at them awkwardly again. Jess thanked her after paying, and he led Rory from the store.

She tried to offer help in placing the items in the trunk, but Jess waved her off. He had told her to tend to Lola, and nearly forced her to go sit down in the front seat after she had attached the baby seat in the car. He came back around to the driver's seat, waiting in the silence. "That was…" She finally broke the silence.

"Yeah…" He nodded, shifting the car into gear. The car ride was then silent, and awkward, and occasionally filled with Lola's whimpering. Jess pulled up to his apartment, and he began to unload the trunk once again not let Rory help. She did sneak in a few easy bags, but Jess never had to know that. He finished taking in the last of it, and found Rory comfortably on the couch with a once again sleeping Lola in her arms.

"I have to shower," She stood up. Jess held out his hands to take Lola (he really did enjoy taking care of her so far). Rory handed her daughter to him with ease (she felt bad that she felt more comfortable with Jess holding her newborn than she would ever feel with Lola's father holding her). She grabbed the items that had been bought, and had almost reached the door before turning to look at him. Her blue eyes were shining a bit more than they had that morning, and she moved closer to hug him.

"Thank you for all you've done." And then she turned to go take her shower. Jess grinned as she walked away, softly bouncing Lola whenever she stirred.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hey guys! I'm back with Chapter 3! OK, so I hope you enjoy this little chapter, cause I do. I really like writing Literati this way, it just feels good and homey! Happy reading and please review! They really make me feel better and keep me going and improve my writing!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

The feeling of the hot water on her back made the thoughts of her past melt away. It wasn't until she felt the way the water cleansed her hair and body did Rory realize how filthy she had been for the past two days. Her hair was grimy, her clothes would need to be thrown out, she didn't even want to think about her body odor. The shower was her saving grace. Well, it was next to Jess.

She couldn't believe that he had been the first person to pop into her head when she knew she needed help. She also couldn't believe that he had so easily helped her and her daughter without batting an eye. He had seemed so angry when she had kissed him last, but he was being so kind and helping. She could have cried out of joy. She didn't, but she could've. He had bought her those clothes and the things she needed for Lola, and he had been there to listen. He hadn't forced her to change her mind, to go home and talk to her mom, to fix things with Logan and her grandparents. He had listened, and he had cared.

She saw the way he was with Lola. She had barely been with him a day, and he was already doting on her daughter. She saw how when they reached the car, he had left the Ernest Hemmingway plushy in the car seat. She didn't even like Hemmingway, but this was her daughter's first toy. He had been helping them out of the goodness of his heart, and she didn't know how she could repay him. He probably would tell her it was nothing.

Rory shut off the hot water, a bit sad that it was now gone, and quickly wrapped a towel around her torso. She felt like she had rubbed her skin raw, and it felt amazing. She was clean from the dirt, from her grandparents, from her soul crushing life in Connecticut. She wondered if she could ever go back. She had given up so much when she had Lola and gone to Philly. It scared and exhilarated her at the same time.

She threw on one of the pairs of jeans she had bought and a dumb t shirt that she had randomly grabbed because it was cheap. Her hair was wrapped in a towel as she refrained from making jokes in the mirror. The cold air hit her like a ton of bricks when she stepped out of the bathroom. She shivered before rushing back in to grab the sweatshirt she had bought. It felt worse now that her hair was down and cold after being brushed. She stepped into the living room to see Jess typing away at his computer with Lola at his feet.

She kept running the brush through her hair (it had always calmed her) as she looked over his shoulder. "What are you doing?" She asked confusedly when she saw the word pediatrician in the search engine. The brown eyed man looked up at her sheepishly. He looked down at the baby in the car seat before returning the mother's gaze.

"How long do you think you'll be staying?" He didn't answer her question. Rory came around to sit on the couch, thinking through her game plan.

"When do you need me gone?" She knew it was naïve to think he could help her forever. She just had to make sure she could find a cheap motel and a job.

"You can stay here as long as you need. I just thought that if you were here for a while, you might be needing a pediatrician for Lola." Her heart melted a bit when she saw the concern written on his face. Here was Jess Mariano, who had been angry with her the last time they had spoken, and he was looking up good pediatricians in the area for her baby. She leaned in to hug him closely. It surprised him, but he reciprocated softly.

"Why are you helping me?" Rory had tears in her eyes. She was so grateful that he was helping her like this, and she could no longer contain her happy tears.

"Because you helped me." His simple response broke the dam, and she cried freely. There was a gigantic smile on her face, and he could tell that she wasn't as sad as she had been earlier that morning. He reached to bring her in for a hug again, and she once again cried into his shoulder. He shushed her softly, and he rocked her in his arms. She felt safe; safer than with either Dean or Logan.

"Thank you…" She had said it at least a thousand times within the day, but she didn't care. She was so thankful for him; she couldn't stop thinking about all he had done for them.

"Any time." His eyes were bright and full of tenderness. There was no one like Jess Mariano.

 **XXX**

He had set everything up for her. Not like many of the things they had bought required assembling, but he did it anyway. He had also organized the room she was staying in for an indefinite amount of time while she had napped on the couch. He only let her do anything when it came to Lola.

"Jess, you have to let me do something!" She had whisper yelled once Lola had been placed down again. Jess was currently trying to figure out how to work the pack-n-play (something she knew how to do, but he wouldn't let her show him). He shook his head, and Rory stifled a giggle from the way he was glaring at the object. "I'll do anything!"

When she said that, he stepped from the room. She followed him, and was surprised to have a book tossed at her. "You can read this." Then he groaned when the pack-n-play collapsed in on itself. He wasn't sure where he was going wrong with it. Rory let her eyes fall on the book, and a smile grew when she saw it as his second book.

"At least let me do the pack-n-play. I've babysat Davey before, and I had to use one. I know how to open and close it." She placed the book down on the bed as he looked at her quizzically. She knelt beside him, effortlessly getting the contraption to open and stay open. Jess gaped at her while she smiled triumphantly.

"Witchcraft." He gasped out. Rory smirked at him, and he stood up to continue moving things around. "You did something, now go read." She didn't know why he wouldn't let her do anything. Well, she knew he was just being nice, but it didn't do anything to squelch her annoyance. However, she did go and read like he asked. She was given something to do when Jess walked back in with a bloody hand.

"How did you do that?!" Rory kept from screeching. She led him to the kitchen, grabbed a washcloth, and then proceeded to clean the wound. He grimaced when the warm water hit his cut, but he didn't pull away.

"I cut myself on the corner of the dresser." He grumbled. She had to keep herself from giggling since the dresser in that room had unusually dull corners. She never pegged Jess as the clumsy type, but she was finding he was full of more surprises than when they were younger. "Hey, it's a really sharp corner." He defended as her laughter bubbled up.

She laughed harder when he said that. "That corner is duller than one of my grandparents' dinner parties." That made him scoff lightly, and Rory quieted when she mentioned her days at her grandparents'. That was the time that she especially wanted to forget. When she had been aimless and confused. She probably was now, but she knew what she needed. She knew what she wanted. She hadn't had anything to live for with her grandparents, but with Lola and Jess in Philly was different. She felt like she had a purpose, even if that purpose was just being a good mother right now.

She finished cleaning the wound quietly, and Jess turned to go back to work. Rory was glad it was a Sunday, or else she would've felt guilty to keep Jess from his job. She made her way back to the couch, and she checked her phone before picking up the book. She was both relieved and miffed that no one had called or texted her. It was good that no one was looking for her, but it also angered her that maybe no one cared about her anymore. She had severed too many ties.

Around five, Rory found herself in the kitchen. She had been wandering around and bouncing Lola when she saw the time. She had let the day slip away from her, and now it was dinner time. Jess obviously hadn't noticed either since he was still heard grumbling from the extra room. She glanced into the freezer, keeping from yelling 'score.' She found a frozen pizza, not just any pizza, meat lovers. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten food that wasn't hospital food.

Her stomach grumbled when she placed it in the oven, having now realized that she hadn't eaten anything that morning in her stressed state. Rory was glad that throughout all that she hadn't learned for cooking she at least knew how to turn on an oven. She messed with the dials, nearly jumping when it beeped. She laughed lightly and placed the pizza in the oven. She searched throughout the rest of the kitchen for utensils and plates. Rory was happy to find a pizza slicer in a random drawer, so that she wouldn't have to uncomfortably cut it with a knife.

She had set up the kitchen table semi-nicely when the buzzer went off again. The mother made funny faces at her baby in the carrier on top of the counter when she pulled the pizza from the oven. Seeing and smelling it made her stomach grumble even more. She began slicing it and placing it on the plates. Rory smiled at how subconsciously she had placed a few more slices on her plate than Jess's.

She made her way to the extra room, gasping upon entrance. It looked completely different than before. Mainly from the fact that it looked a bit more open and had enough room for both the bed and pack-n-play. The boxes were gone, and Jess had organized everything perfectly. "Dinner's ready." Her voice came out light and airy as her eyes trailed around the room. She could feel his gaze, and knew he was smirking at her astonishment.

"Since when can you cook?" He teased. Rory brought her attention back to the man in the room. He was indeed smirking like she thought, and he had a glint in his eye waiting for her response. Rory pursed her lips; he chuckled when she turned to kitchen. Jess was quick to follow her. He stepped into an oddly domestic scene, complete with using actual utensils and plates (something he hadn't done since moving out of the apartment above Truncheon. Well, he hadn't really used them there either).

Jess didn't say anything when he saw the proud smile on Rory's face. She sat across from him, and he noticed the pizza ratio on their plates. He beamed at her because old habits die hard, and he too dug in. He chuckled when he sipped his milk, and he caught the rosy-ness growing on Rory's cheeks. She blushed and looked down at her food. "Thank you." He smiled.

Her head bobbed up to look at him, and it dawned on him that she had been the one saying that to him for the past twenty-four hours. It made Rory feel better knowing that she had been able to do something for him instead of vice-versa. "You're welcome!" She sounded extra chipper. Jess looked at the time, knowing it was close to when Lola would need to sleep. He smiled once more before returning to his work. He was almost done, and he wanted them to have an acceptable place to stay. However long that may be.

When Jess left, Lola began to cry. "Is someone hungry?" Rory cooed at the baby. She continued to cry, and her mother nodded to herself. She began feeding, waiting patiently for the blonde baby to fall asleep. Rory cradled her daughter in her arms, watching her sleep peacefully. She sighed contentedly, and she sauntered toward the guest room. Jess was standing back, inspecting his handy work.

He turned when he felt another presence in the room. "She's sleeping." Rory pointed. Jess silently left the room, and the brunette glanced around at his handy work. She was proud of him. And thankful, but she had to stop saying that. She hummed softly as she placed Lola in the pack-n-play. The baby looked so tiny in the open space, but it was all they had for now. Rory tiptoed from the room once she knew for sure that Lola was all set.

She sat on the couch adjacent to Jess, pulling her knees up to her chin. He had switched the channel to some local news thing, and was working on editing or something. Rory sighed when she checked her phone. Jess looked up from whatever he had been doing to watch her questioningly. "What's up?" He asked, and she sighed again.

"It should be nothing. I mean, I don't want them asking about me every single minute. And I know that, like, I haven't spoken to anyone in maybe a month… But I at least expected _some_ calls or texts. It's dumb." She threw the phone on to the coffee table as her eyes flicked back up to the TV. Jess nodded in understanding.

"Luke's calling tomorrow. I could tell him about you?" He started. Rory turned from the TV to study his face. She mulled it over, not sure if she actually wanted the contact with her mom's ex who was like her father. She knew that Luke cared about her, and he had not been all that happy when she dropped out of Yale the second time. However, he had been a bit more understanding on why she did it.

"Uh, sure," She somehow pulled her knees even higher, if that was even possible. "I mean, I probably should tell someone where I am. And Luke is reliable. Yeah, that's cool." She stammered. Jess smiled.

"Good." He agreed.

"Good." She replied.

 **XXX**

That next morning, Jess was on his way to work, and on the phone with Luke. They usually talked when he was driving to work, or when Luke had a lull in the morning rush. The morning rush had ended and began early, so Jess was able to call when next to no one was in the diner. "Rory's staying with me." He had blurted out when the they had talked about nearly everything they could talk about.

On the other end of the line, Luke gaped. He saw Miss Patty and Babette still around, and he rushed into the store room. "What do you mean Rory's staying with you?" He asked in a hushed tone. Jess had heard the slamming door, and had to crack a joke before answering the question.

"Are you in the store room?" He smirked. Luke huffed.

"Jess, what do you mean Rory's staying with you?" He asked once more. This time Jess was ready to answer.

"She showed up at my apartment late on Saturday night. She's got a kid." He wasn't sure how to really talk about the subject now that they were.

"I know she's got a kid. Why did she go to you?" Luke was worried.

"She said she didn't have anyone. And she had literally just had her kid. The first thing she said was that she had just gotten out of the hospital. Luke, what happened?"

Luke sighed on the other end. At least Rory was safe. "I don't really know considering I'm not with Lorelai anymore." Jess remembered that call, it had been awkward and a bit sad (not that he would ever admit that). "But that punk Logan got her pregnant, and then she didn't want to go back to Yale, and he's in London, and there was another falling out with all the Gilmores. It's just a mess."

"Well, she's staying with me indefinitely. Just thought you should know. Oh, and the kid's name is Lola."

"Lola?" Luke questioned. Jess nodded even though his uncle couldn't see him.

"Short for Lorelai."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hey guys! Oh my gosh have you seen all those new trailer snippets?! AAAAHHH! Just makes it all the more real that the revival is a week from today! Oh my gosh I am so excited! OK, so back to the story. I am currently working on chapter seven of this, so I hope I'm at a good pace, and since next week is Thanksgiving I'll have soooo much time to work on this! When I'm not screaming about the revival of course! Well, happy reading and please please please review! They keep me going!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Jess decided to go home a bit earlier that day. He knew he should work, but he hadn't told the guys why he couldn't go out with them for drinks. That was a can of worms he did not want to open, and as long as he was at work they would keep pestering him. So, his best decision was to go home. He stepped through the door and was met with annoyed groaning.

It confused him, so Jess tentatively shuffled into the living room. In front of him was the oddest thing he had ever seen. Rory was sitting crisscrossed on the couch; two laundry baskets by her side. One full of rumpled clothes, the other neatly folded clothes. In the baby carrier was Lola, sleeping peacefully. On the TV was some show or other, but it had Rory completely enamored. Her jaw was dropped in a defensive and surprised way, and Jess had to keep from laughing.

She was watching a soap opera.

And she was doing laundry, but that was beside the point. Rory freakin' Gilmore was watching a soap opera, and getting extremely into it. Jess cleared his throat, finally gaining her attention. Her head shot up, another hilarious expression gracing her features. He could no longer hold it in; the writer busted out laughing. Rory blushed profusely, throwing a pair of sweatpants his way. "Are you doing my laundry?"

"I got bored!" She exclaimed. Jess only laughed harder. "And when was the last time you did laundry, Mister? I'm surprised you had a clean outfit to go to work in." She harrumphed before grabbing another shirt to fold. He rolled his eyes good naturedly, dodging when she hit him with a towel that had somehow ended up there.

"So, what'd you do today?" He joked. Rory threw her arms out, gesturing to all the laundry she had been doing. It made him chuckle softly. Jess stooped down to pick up a now awake Lola, who was looking around the room with her bright blue eyes. He was growing extremely fond of the baby after only two days. It probably helped that her mother was someone whom he had once loved.

They continued to sit in the glow of the TV. Rory folding laundry; Jess keeping Lola's attention for as long as possible. It was oddly domestic. "You could come with me to work tomorrow…" He wondered aloud. The blue eyed woman stopped her folding and turned to watch him. He hadn't taken his eyes off of Lola's smiling face, and she had to admit that he was incredibly sweet with the baby.

"Um, that would be fun." She returned to folding as soon as his eyes fell on her face. She hadn't noticed his change of concentration until Lola whined, and Jess was still staring at her intently. He had a slight smirk on his face, turning his attentions back to the baby.

"Just the diaper." He smelled near Lola's bum. Rory giggled when he scrunched his nose in disgust. "Come on, Blondie. Let's get you all cleaned up!" He cooed in a baby voice. The brunette smiled brightly watching him interact with her daughter. She repressed a few more giggles from hearing his baby voice; she never thought Jess would ever use a voice like that.

Rory reached for the take-out menu that she had been looking at before Jess had come back. She had been thinking about ordering soon, and now seemed like the best time. She called, ordering almost all of the chicken section when Jess walked back in. Lola was once again smiling, and Rory eagerly held her close. "Chinese good?" She asked after hanging up the phone.

The brown eyed man nodded and grabbed a laundry basket. He took the basket to his room, and caught a bit of Rory's one sided conversation to Lola upon his return. "You like it here huh, Baby?" She now was using the same baby voice he had moments before. Lola gurgled in response. "Me too. And Jess likes you, huh? But of course he would, cause you're the cutest!" She pressed a kiss to Lola's soft blonde hair. "Mwah!" She smacked her lips loudly.

Rory was brought from her attention when the delivery man knocked on the door. She didn't have time to place Lola in her seat, so she took her with her. She continued using the breathy tone, and Jess almost lost it when she used the voice on the delivery man. "I, uh… Sorry," Rory blushed.

"I got it, Ror." Jess smoothly stepped in. She nodded, and began talking in her baby voice now that no one would judge her. "Sorry, man. She's been home alone all day. She's still getting used to talking to adults." He didn't register how domestic that had sounded. The delivery man nodded shyly, took the money, and left quickly. Jess headed towards the kitchen to get forks and spoons, holding in his laughter when he saw Rory shaking on the couch.

Her face was bright red, and she was shaking from holding back her laughter. Eventually, the man lost it, sending the both of them into loud roars. They quieted down when Lola protested in her shrill way. "I'm gonna need to find a new place that delivers," He chuckled. Rory nodded, still laughing uncontrollably. The shaking of her body seemed to have calmed down Lola all on its own. One less thing for them to worry about.

With Jess now in the room, Rory decided she should probably change the channel to something other than soap operas. She was currently flipping through the channels while eating her kung pow chicken. Lola was peacefully watching from her car seat. The young mother stopped on a rerun of _The X-Files_. She hid her face into the crook of Jess's neck. "This one is so sad!"

He watched as a little girl was quarantined while Scully ran around frantically. He remembered this one. _The X-Files_ hadn't been his favorite show growing up, but he remembered catching a glimpse of this particular episode. He remembered wondering how someone could love their child, whom they had barely known, that much. He remembered wondering if his mother would ever do that if he had been in the hospital. Probably not.

"It made me cry when I was a kid, and it's going to make me cry now," She stood abruptly. "I'm going to put Lola to bed." Rory left Jess alone with the TV. He shifted uncomfortably on the couch as the commercials started up. Ten minutes later, the blue eyed mother returned. She returned to her place on the couch, trying to keep from crying when Scully cradled Emily in the hospital.

Her eyes welled up, and a few tears slipped down her cheeks. She brushed them aside, moaning quietly. "Every damn time." Jess pulled her close. "I guess it's worse, now that I'm a mother." Her gaze flew to the baby on the floor. The man beside her bobbed his head, looking in the same direction.

"Yeah, you really need human contact. Something Mulder lacked." He pressed a kiss to her hair, chuckling softly. He smiled when she laughed too.

 **XXX**

The next morning, Rory got dressed and ready at the same time as Jess. She was excited to be back out into the world, and that world full of books called Truncheon. She felt a bit self-conscious wearing her cheap jeans and sweatshirt, but it was all she had. She could at least dress Lola up cute.

Jess had grinned largely when Rory brought out Lola wearing the onesie he had picked out. She was also wrapped up against the chilly December air in a fuzzy blanket Rory had bought a month before her birth. The same day she had realized she couldn't return to Yale. The same day she had had the falling out with her mother. She pushed the thoughts away when she handed Lola to Jess, so she could get the baby bag ready.

Stepping into Truncheon took Rory back nearly a year. Back when she thought she knew what she wanted, when she had a boyfriend and a good relationship with her mother, when she didn't have a baby. She was surprised when a woman, maybe a year or two older than herself, popped up, pointing at Jess. "When did this happen?" Her question resonated in the quiet store.

"This," The writer pointed between himself, Rory, and Lola. "Did not happen. Cam, this is Rory. She's staying with me for a while. And this, is her daughter Lola. Rory and I grew up together." He acted like he was talking to a two-year-old. Cam rolled her eyes and smacked his arm. She then turned to the other woman in the room.

"Nice to meet you, Rory. I'm Cam, short for Camille, _not_ Cameron." She sent a glare Jess's way. He held up his hands after placing Lola down. Rory shook the woman's hand and smiled. Cam seemed nice enough with her light brown eyes shining at Lola. "Aww, she is so cute! I want one."

"Don't let Matt hear you say that." The man behind them chuckled.

"Nah, it's fine with me. Our children will be the color of a mocha latte." Matt then came down the stairs, wrapping an arm around Cam's waste. "Good God, Mariano. What have you done?" He asked when he spotted the baby carrier on the ground. Jess rolled his eyes and ran his hand down his face. He did catch Rory's eye; it didn't go unnoticed how she had pressed her palm to her mouth in an attempt to quiet a few giggles.

"I did nothing, it was all her!" He pointed at the very red Rory. She cowered sarcastically. "I am not related to this kid at all." He gained a few pointed looks from his friends. "I swear!"

Suddenly, a look of recognition passed over Matt's face. "I remember you!" He pointed at Rory like Jess had seconds before. "You were at the open house!" He seemed rather excited that he was remembering it that easily. He then turned his attention back to Lola. "You sure it's all hers, Mariano?" Matt asked, making Rory blush, and Jess hide his face.

"She's only a few days old. The timing and the fact that we didn't do anything means she is all hers." Jess poked Matt. He nodded, finally getting it, but then began arguing that it could all be a hoax. Cam looked over to Rory's hidden, red face, and felt sorry for her. She reached for the other woman's hand while the men bickered.

"Wanna get coffee? They'll be like this forever." She threw her head in the direction of an annoyed Jess and amused Matt. Rory nodded rapidly, picking up the baby carrier. "We're getting coffee!" Cam shouted to the men who weren't listening. Matt waved a hand absentmindedly, and Jess had his head in his hands.

The women scampered out of Truncheon, and Cam led Rory a few blocks away to a local coffee shop. She held the door open, and mother and baby entered quickly. Rory was overjoyed to be met with the strong smell of her favorite drink (the one thing she hadn't started drinking again until the day before). Cam moved to sit at a window table, and waited for the other woman to join her.

They made small talk for a few minutes until their orders were placed (Rory had to sadly order decaf again, but it was better than nothing). "So how do you know Jess?" Cam finally asked the question that had been weighing on her heavily. Rory nearly choked on her coffee.

"We, uh, we grew up together. In Stars Hollow." She managed, though her throat felt unnaturally raw. The dark-skinned woman across from her harrumphed.

"Did you guys date, or anything?" She already guessed the answer from how hesitant Rory had been.

"Yeah, our senior year of high school. But he went off to California without telling me, and it was over. Then he came back to town that winter, told me he loved me, ran off, and I didn't see him 'til the end of my freshman year. He asked me to run away with him… Then I didn't see him until last November when he told me he wrote a book, and then again at the open house. We kissed, I messed it up royally, and here we are…" She trailed. Rory hadn't told anyone the whole story before, and here she was spilling her guts to a near stranger.

Cam sat back a bit farther in her chair, her eyebrows furrowed. She opened her mouth to say something before clamping it shut. She did it a few more times before finally sputtering out, "W-why did you go to him?" She was rather curious, and it surprised Rory how easily she could reply to the woman.

"I don't even know. I mean, he's always been Jess. He always pushed me to do the things I needed to do. I currently don't have the best relationship with my family, and he's always been there. I knew he wouldn't judge me, not like my family did…" She couldn't think of any other reason, but she could tell the brown eyed woman on the other side of the table was mulling over a few other reasons. Rory waited for her reply, but was drawn from her thoughts when Lola elicited a squeak. The mother smiled when her daughter immediately calmed being in her arms.

Cam still didn't say anything, but she did smile at the two of them brightly. They finished off their coffees, exchanging little anecdotes and laughing like they had been friends for years. Occasionally, Cam would squeeze and love on Lola. "Looks like they should probably be done bickering now." The slightly older woman joked. Rory laughed lightly, placing Lola back in her carrier. They continued to joke and banter all the way back to Truncheon.

When they entered, they were ambushed by Jess. "Where were you?" The worry was evident in his voice. The women exchanged a confused glance. "I thought you went somewhere, and something or someone happened." His gaze was soft, and Rory had to keep from melting. She pulled him in for a hug, and Cam's knowing look was not ignored by the young mother.

"We got coffee," Cam butted in. "You would have known that if you and Matt weren't fighting forever!" She exasperated dramatically. Jess rolled his eyes in response and reached down to take Lola from her seat. His overdramatic friend feigned a content sigh, moving her eyes between the two ex-lovers.

"Whatever, I have to go meet with a writer." He returned the baby to her mother, throwing his hand up in mock annoyance. He turned to Rory, who was beaming down at Lola. "I'll see you in a few." He bent a bit further to smile at the bright eyed baby. "Bye, Blondie!" His voice raised a few octaves, and he placed his hand on her shock of blonde hair.

Cam shot her new friend another look which she cowered underneath. "I'm not saying anything!" She held up her hands, backing away towards the stairs. Rory let out a sigh and picked up her daughter. She smiled up at her mother, and Rory took that as the fact that she liked it here. Maybe she had made the best decision of her life by asking for Jess's help.

Her thought was proven true when he came back an hour later, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead when he thought she was sleeping. He turned his back, and she smiled profusely. Definitely a good decision.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Oh my gosh you guys! It's one day till the revival! Ahhh, new lit scenes in just a little over twenty four hours! Oh I'm so excited! Also, happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans! I hope you all have a safe and fun filled holiday weekend! Ok, so I gotta say I am happy with how this chapter turned out. I just think it's adorable, but I might be a bit biased since you know I wrote it… Anyway, happy reading and please review! Once again, Happy Thanksgiving, and Gilmore Girls day tomorrow!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

She had been staying with Jess for about three weeks now. Christmas had been the previous week, and now 2007 was officially upon them. And it began with a sick Rory. She hadn't thought much of anything really. She had just had a bit of a stuffy nose, probably from her thin coat that she refused to replace. She had been tired, but all new mothers were. Another thing she hadn't thought much about. She had even tried to write off the aches and pains as something related to stress, and for a while Jess believed her.

That was until he had come home to hear a wailing Lola, and to see Rory passed out on the couch from exhaustion. He came and felt her forehead, recoiling at how warm it was. She stirred as he walked towards the extra room to tend to Lola. The baby's face was all screwed up and red from screaming for so long. He held her close, bouncing her around before changing her diaper. Lola's cries quieted somewhat, but she was still hungry. Jess walked into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle from the fridge. Thankfully, Cam had gotten Rory a breast pump so that when it came to it Jess could help feed Lola too.

She quieted altogether with the bottle in her mouth. He continued bouncing her softly, occasionally glancing into the living room where Rory was still sleeping. He didn't think he had ever known someone to have a fever that high at their age, but he didn't really know that many people to begin with. Lola stopped eating after a few minutes, and Jess placed her against his shoulder to burp her. He continued to hold her for a while afterwards, wondering how long his roommate had been asleep. And wondering how she hadn't heard her daughter's squalls.

Once again, Lola was out like a light, and Jess made his way towards the couch. Rory still didn't stir, and it was beginning to worry him. "Ror," He nudged her shoulder. She swatted at him and turned to the other side of the couch. "Ror," He tried again, shoving her a bit harder. She sat up immediately, trying and failing to look intimidating in her tired, sickly state.

"What?" She snapped, unlike her normal self. She noticed Lola contently snuggling closer to him. Rory hit her cheek lightly, rubbing the button marks from her soft skin. "Is there something wrong with Lola?" A wave of panic washed over her. Jess shook his head solemnly.

"No, it's you," The look on her face was priceless, and he fought the urge to snap a quick picture. "You're sick." Rory shook her head defiantly. She tried to sit up a bit more, but she ended up moaning in pain from the aches all over her body. Her head began to spin from an oncoming headache, and she finally accepted Jess's assumption that she was indeed sick.

"I'm cold." She shivered to prove her point. Jess nodded, and made sure to keep Lola a decent distance away from her sick mother. Before getting the blanket, he took what was Lola's "crib" and placed it in his room. Rory heard the rustling, and gaped at him as she tried to sit up. "What are you doing?" She sounded annoyed.

"Lola can't sleep in your room. She'll get sick, and we don't want that. Do we?" He spoke to her like she was a child. She grumbled annoyedly, but gratefully took the blanket he had handed her. "Now, I'm going to go get some stuff from the store, you won't accidentally kill yourself while I'm gone?" He joked. Rory very gracefully flipped him off as he got Lola ready to go to the store with him. "Gee, you sure know how to make a guy feel appreciated." Then he shut the front door.

"Your mama's stubborn, isn't she?" Jess spoke in a baby voice. Lola smiled at him, not even comprehending the situation. She was quiet for the entire car ride, something he would forever be thankful for. She was still quiet when the cold January air tickled her cheeks except for a few cute baby giggles. It was too cute, and Jess couldn't help but chuckle along with her.

He maneuvered the cart through the grocery store knowing exactly what they needed. He had never been well taken care of when he was sick, but he remembered a time when his best friend at that age had been sick. His friend's mom had allowed him to stay around considering his situation, and he had taken care of his mother too many times to know exactly what sick people wanted. Jess kept smiling down at Lola while he searched down the aisles for Gatorade and other sick foods.

"What kind of Gatorade does Mama like?" He asked the baby. She only stared at him with a smiling face. "I don't know either. She'll probably like them all." He grabbed a few of the original flavors and even a few random ones that seemed disgusting enough that she would like. Lola gurgled in response. He remembered they were out of milk as well, and grabbed a can of Ovaltine on their way because obviously, Rory would "need" it.

He was perusing the different kinds of frozen pizzas when some random woman came up and smiled at Lola. "She is adorable." The way she said it put Jess on edge. He smiled politely nodding his head. "I just love kids." Her voice was dripping with something that he couldn't place.

"Yeah, well…" He felt incredibly awkward. "We have to get home to Mama, right?" His attention changed to Lola, hoping she would be his out. "You're gonna be my good little nurse, help Mama get better." Jess tried to hold back his smirk when the woman suddenly changed her attitude and walked away. The way the woman hit on him made him realize maybe there was still something there for Rory.

He then made his way to the diaper aisle because Lola went through diapers like Lorelai went through coffee. He grabbed at least two boxes, and started to make his way to the front. He stopped though at the women's clothes. It was weird, but he felt really bad that Rory only had a few pairs of clothes. Also, she didn't have enough warm stuff, probably what led to her getting sick in the first place. So, Jess stopped and grabbed another sweatshirt and a soft sweater for her. "You think your mom will like this?" He held up the items, Lola smiled at them. "I'll take that as a yes."

He didn't know why but every time he went to the store lately, he got off track. That was how he ended up in the bedsheets trying to find some warmer blankets and new sheets. He figured that Rory's sheets would have to be washed a thousand times or burned, and he didn't want to waste perfectly good sheets, so he got an extra set so that he could wash hers while she was sick. He also grabbed a fluffy blanket that he would normally never be caught dead with because he knew she would like it.

Jess did know that he would need medicines and stuff, so he went to get ibuprofen and a humidifier. Finally, the cart was stuffed to the brim, and he feared that if one more thing was put in there, Lola would be lost forever. That forced him to call it quits and go back to the apartment.

He walked in to see Rory once again asleep on the couch. The blanket haphazardly wrapped around her, and the TV remote slipping from her hands. Her cheeks seemed even more flushed than when he had come home, and he once again placed a hand to her forehead and recoiled. Jess placed Lola in his room after preparing her to go to sleep. He returned to Rory's side, tapping her softly. She stirred, frowning as he pushed a strand of hair away from her sweaty brow.

"Hey," He said softly. The woman looked at him, smiling deliriously. "I have a thermometer; I'm going to take your temperature." She nodded, opening her mouth and sticking out her tongue. Jess chuckled, placing the thermometer under her outstretched tongue. The thermometer beeped, and the writer cringed when he read the numbers. "102.1." He showed it to her. Rory's eyes widened, and she groaned at the aches running through her body.

Jess helped her up, leaning her body against his when her knees buckled slightly. He led her to the bathroom, and began filling up the bathtub. He left her sitting on the closed toilet seat, and returned with a glass of water and two ibuprofen tablets. She downed them quickly, glancing warily at the bathtub. "It's cold. We have to get your fever down." Rory nodded, and began taking off her clothes. Jess averted his eyes.

The bath was all the way full with bubbles, so he could help but not feel awkward about any of it. She shivered when the frigid water hit her boiling skin. She continued to wade down into the freezing water, whimpering as her body got lower. "Hey, it's ok. It's ok." Jess felt like he was talking to a five-year-old. She watched him tiredly as he grabbed a plastic cup to soak her sweaty hair. Her teeth chattered when the water hit her hair, and he apologized but stressed the necessity.

When Jess was satisfied at how low her temperature had fallen, he helped her into a thick towel. He held it open for her, but made sure to turn his head. She wrapped it around herself, and hummed when he pulled her into his arms. He helped her to her room, and Rory felt heat rush to her cheeks when he went through her drawers. Though, she wasn't sure if it was the fever or something else. Jess laid out the sweatpants he let her borrow, and pulled out a sweatshirt from one of the Walmart bags he brought back.

He turned around as she tugged on the sweatpants and sweatshirt. He heard rustling and looked behind him to see her twisting her hair in the towel. "C-can we w-watch a movie?" Her voice was weak, and her teeth chattered loudly. Jess wrapped an arm around her to get back to the couch. Rory immediately sunk into the couch, pulling the blanket around her freezing body. She had gotten rid of the towel turban, and was trying to comb her fingers through her knotted locks. "Can, can y-you…" Her question died on her lips, and the brown eyed man left to get her hair brush.

He also returned with a Gatorade, making her smile. The remote was once again in her fingers, and Jess groaned as she placed it on some cheesy Hallmark movie. "I thought that Christmas was over." He whined; Rory giggled. Her hand was growing limp and achy, and he took the brush from her hands. She sighed contentedly as he ran it through her hair.

"Valentine's Day." Her reply was croaky and small. She had to keep from moaning as his hands ran through her wet hair. He nodded behind her, and she internally protested when he put the brush on the table next to the couch. She leaned against his chest, letting his body heat warm her. Rory cuddled closer into Jess's side, her lips turning up when his arm snaked around her waist. Before long, she was asleep again.

Jess shook his head, and picked her up. She was lighter than he would have thought (not that she had ever been heavy to begin with, but she had just had a baby. She was bound to weigh a bit more than when they were teenagers). Her face pressed against his chest, bringing a smile to his face. She looked so small underneath the thousands of blankets she had demanded earlier. Jess was brought from watching Rory sleep peacefully when Lola let out a cry from his room.

He held the baby close, making sure that she too wasn't getting a fever. Thankfully, she wasn't. Just a dirty diaper. She was back to being happy and quiet after being changed, and Jess wanted to keep her up for company. However, he knew that she would need to go to sleep, and since Rory wasn't allowed near her, he would be doing this on his own. He had always helped Rory at night, never actually taking care of Lola without her. Much like how she had never taken care of the baby without him. Another domestic picture popped into his head, causing him to roll his eyes.

Lola was put back to sleep, and Jess was almost asleep. "Jess!" Rory called from her room. She sounded tired and pained, so he immediately went to her. She was sweating like crazy, her hair sticking to her forehead, her clothes now skin tight, her face redder than before. She looked awful. Jess sat down on the side of the bed while Rory gulped at the water he brought her.

"I'll draw another bath." He got up to leave. She grimaced in pain, still drinking as much as she could. She ran out of water and grabbed for the Gatorade on her bedside table. It annoyed Rory to no end how her body temperature was changing at the drop of a hat. She really hated being sick. She glanced at the clock, gawking at how late it was. Her ibuprofen must have worn off, and now her body was back to aching everywhere.

Jess returned to help her to the bathroom, again. As soon as the covers were off of her, Rory began to shiver and chatter her teeth. It hurt to touch anything, and she felt hot and cold at the same time. Once again, she was in the freezing cold bathtub with Jess making sure she didn't do anything stupid. Rory swore she saw steam coming off of her body when she brought her arm up to take another swig of Gatorade. Afterwards, she was wrapped in a towel, shivering for the second time that evening.

She had soaked her clothes with sweat, so Jess went back to his room to get her another pair of sweatpants (something she should invest in herself). He tossed the soiled clothes in the washer machine, and returned to see Rory once again curled up on the couch. "It's three in the morning," She stated when he sat down.

"You can read a clock!" He joked, ensuing in her slapping his arm.

"What are you doing up this late?" She asked, sincerity evident in her tone. He rolled his eyes, knowing the answer was obvious.

"I'm taking care of you." He grabbed at the remote to turn the TV off again. She pouted good naturedly, gasping in pain when she moved too quickly for the remote. She rubbed at her shoulder, her face still contorted in pain. He pulled her to him. "You need to get some sleep." He picked her up again. She realized now how tired she was as she let him carry her towards her room.

He turned to leave the room, but was stopped by her quiet, tired voice. "Can you stay in here. With me?" Her question seemed so innocent. He sighed resigned, and slipped under the covers. Her skin still felt warm, but the bath had helped it cool a bit. Her forehead was still sticky, but not as bad as before. She wrapped her arms around his torso, wanting to feel someone hold her while she was sick. He kissed her hair before finally being allowed to fall asleep.

That was until Lola woke up screaming. Rory had slept through it, and Jess new it was for the best. He trudged back into his room, and reached for the baby. Her skin still didn't feel warm, but she was hungry. He walked into the kitchen, and bounced her around while heating up a bottle. He held the bottle poised in the baby's mouth, and groaned when he saw the time. Six in the morning. He had only gotten two maybe three hours of sleep, and it wouldn't last much longer. He placed Lola back in his room, and headed to check on Rory.

She slept fitfully, grabbing at the side of the bed he had been sleeping on. "Jess!" She yelled out, still not awake. He pulled her into his arms, smiling when she stopped moving. Her skin once again felt hot, but she was still asleep and shouldn't be disturbed. So he put her underneath the covers again, and wrapped his arms around her when her movements became frantic. They spent the rest of the morning like that, but she never woke up again. Lola did, and it pained him to see the sick woman crying out for him when he went to take care of her daughter.

Around eight, he gave up. Rory had woken up again, took a few ibuprofens, and went back to sleep. This one with less jerking movements. Thankfully, he could now place his full attention on Lola, who was up and smiling and vying for his attention even though she didn't realize it. The phone started ringing off the hook, and Jess reached it before it woke up Rory. "Hello?" He gasped out, having lost his breath in search for the phone.

"Jess?" The voice on the other end was no doubt Luke's. Jess had completely forgotten their weekly calls.

"Hey, sorry. I, I'm really busy right now. Rory's sick, and I'm taking care of Lola because Rory can _not_ be anywhere near her. It's, I'm, never mind." He heard talking on the other end, and he hoped that no one else heard anything he said about Rory and Lola.

"Rory's sick?" Luke wondered aloud. "How bad?" He might not be on good terms with her mother, or the happiest with her actions, but Luke still cared about Rory like she was his own daughter.

Jess rubbed his eyes, taking another look at the clock. "It's just a fever. She'll be fine in a day or two. I'm just trying to keep Lola from getting sick, and Rory from getting worse." He bounced Lola in his arms, and waited for Luke's reply.

"Do you guys need anything? I can always come and-"

"No, it's fine. We're fine. I don't know how ready Rory is to be thrown back into her old life. I'm giving her some time." Lola whimpered lightly, indicating her hunger. "Look, I gotta go. Lola's hungry, and Rory'll be up any minute. Bye." He hung up quickly, partially to feed Lola and partially to get out of an awkward situation. Luke was helpful, but this was one thing that wouldn't be good for him to get into yet.

Rory came stumbling out of her room, face flushed and blanket pulled tightly around her shoulders. She rubbed at her eyes, smiling when she saw Jess feeding Lola. He was smiling down at the baby, murmuring little things to her. It made Rory's heart soar. He was really good with her, and he was really good at playing nurse. She shuffled over to get more pain killers and Gatorade. His head shot up, grinning in hopes to make her feel better.

"How're you feeling?" He asked softly, since Lola had fallen asleep again. Rory grunted in reply, completely unlike her. "Thought so." He smirked. She sat across from him at the table, gesturing to her daughter. "No, we don't want her getting sick." He stood up to go put Lola in her "crib." Rory sighed annoyedly, glaring at him when he returned.

"I miss my baby," She whined. Jess gazed at her sympathetically while heating up a frozen waffle.

"Then that's good motivation to get better." He placed the plate in front of her. Rory dug in quickly, feeling extra famished after eating nearly nothing the day before. She did give up after only one waffle though, so Jess knew it might be a while before she was finally better. She stared at the table, whipping at her sweaty forehead and catching Jess's eye.

"Do you want another bath?" He already knew her answer. He took her temperature before starting the bath, smiling that it had gone down. "100.8." Jess showed Rory the thermometer. She hummed happily, and sunk into the cold water to lower her body heat.

The rest of the day was spent in and out of the cold bath, in and out of sweaty and dry clothes, and in and out of blankets. Jess occasionally left Rory to take care of Lola, but that was usually while she napped to avoid temptation. They fell asleep on the couch while watching an incredibly cheesy Hallmark Valentine's day movie. "You'll be better in no time." He mumbled as they were falling asleep.

 **XXX**

"Shit," Jess groaned walking into the apartment after a long week at work. He was afraid that he was coming down with what Rory had when he woke up that morning with aches all over his body. Rory was still watching those horrible Hallmark movies, but she was better now. She was smiling at Lola while she folded the sheets that had been on her bed when she was sick. She looked up to Jess, withholding a gasp.

"Oh no." She reached up to feel his forehead. It was on fire, and she reached for the thermometer to take his temperature. "101.7." She pushed the object into his face. His hand smacked his forehead, and he groaned.

"Into bed with you!" She pushed him into his room where Lola's 'crib' had once been. "And if you're a good boy, I'll give you a bath and a cookie." She mocked him, placing a few blankets on his comforter. He stuck out his tongue at her, holding back a smirk.

Rory brought him a Gatorade and some ibuprofen, pushing the door closed as she entered. She watched him take the pain killers, and sat down on the side of his bed. "Don't go near Lola. We don't her getting sick, do we?" She asked the same question he had asked her all week. Jess nodded his head as he drifted off the sleep. He was in for a long few days.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hey guys! Oh my word, can I just say thank you for the reviews on the last chapter, I think that is the most I have ever gotten for one chapter of any of my stories. Also, I gotta get it out in the open. The revival, and this freaking fic. Is it freaking anyone else out how perfectly it matches up with the final four words? Cause I finished the revival, and I just sat there thinking 'Oh my gosh there goes my life and happiness' and 'holy frick this is like Mayday.' Yeah it kinda freaked me out, but I'm good now. And by good I mean drowning my sorrows in the literati tag on tumblr, writing fics, reading fics, and watching lots of videos. Ok well, that's probably enough about this past weekend. And happy reading and please review!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

A month and a half. That's how long she had been living with him. That's how long it had been since she was in Connecticut. That's how old Lola was. The baby had grown like a weed, and still as cute as ever. Her blonde hair grew a bit, curling at the tips. The doctor they had taken her to thought her eyes might change color in next few months. She had grown extremely attached to Jess in the past month, gurgling and giggling whenever her came into the room. It melted Rory's heart.

She had placed Lola on the floor of the apartment where she spent most afternoons grabbing at the hanging soft mobile. Next to her was her best friend, plushy Ernest Hemingway. Jess walked through the front door, smirking when he smelled mac and cheese (the few things that Rory had learned to cook since moving in with him). He made his way to the living room first, swooping down to pick up Lola before going to talk to Rory. He had something important to tell her, and he wasn't sure how she was going to take it.

"Hey, Ror," He said. She turned from the Kraft mac and cheese on the stove, throwing him a smile before looking back at the pot. She couldn't move away from the stove for too long or else the macaroni would burn (something it only did with her. When Jess made dinner, he could take a shower and nothing would catch fire or turn black). He sat at the table, Lola wiggling around in his arms.

"Almost done!" The brunette beamed at her roommate, proud that she was making dinner without any issues. Last night, the BLTs hadn't exactly made it. She flipped the stove off, and placed the pot onto another unused burner. She began getting out the plates and silverware, smiling at him warily when she caught his eye. "What's up?" She could tell something was bothering him when he didn't bounce Lola up and down in his usual manner.

"Luke wants to come here." He let out a breath as the words came out. Jess looked up when Rory "I always have an opinion" Gilmore didn't respond. Her eyes were downcast, her hands balled up in a fist, her cheeks tinging pink. "I can tell him no. It was his idea, but he misses you and wanted to meet Lola. If you don't want him here, I can call him and tell him no." He rambled trying to ease her mind. She giggled softly because Jess Mariano did not ramble, and she moved to the seat next to his.

"It's fine. It's just Luke, not the entire town of Stars Hollow. When will he be coming?" Rory agreed, curiously. Jess looked between Lola and Rory, not sure what to say. He felt sheepish, worried with the allotted time frame he was giving her.

"Uh, tomorrow," He mumbled. Her eyes widened, and she stood, nearly knocking down her chair in the process. She paced around the small kitchen, muttering things that Jess couldn't catch. Her blue eyes scanned every inch of the kitchen then trailing to the other areas of the open apartment. She looked like she was making a list in her mind, and she stopped when her eyes fell on a concerned Jess.

"Yeah, I guess that would be fine…" She began putting mac and cheese on the plates. Her sudden change in demeanor made Jess think it wasn't fine.

"I can tell him to come some other time. When we're more prepared…" He reasoned. He put Lola in her baby carrier that was sitting on the table next to the spots that had been dubbed theirs. Rory shook her head furiously, thrusting a plate of macaroni into his outstretched arms.

"No, no. It's fine. I mean I'll have to do some major cleaning tomorrow, but it's fine. I'll manage. It's fine. I'm fine." Her voice sounded less and less assured with each 'I'm fine.' Jess nodded, deciding not to say any more. For the rest of the evening, Rory was in a funk. She went around cleaning, making lists, pushing Jess in and out of rooms, asking him to take Lola.

Lola was asleep, and Rory was still tidying up. Jess watched from the couch as she groaned in frustration. "Can't you do anything?" She yelled, but not too loud to wake Lola up. "You've been sitting there, doing nothing, for hours! This is your house too!" Her shouts made him chuckle. She shot him a death glare, but he still didn't stop. "This isn't funny!" She sounded like an annoyed elementary student who didn't get the color marker they wanted.

"I tried to help, but you kept getting angry that I wasn't doing it right," He laughed at her ashamed blush. He patted the couch for her to sit beside him. She did, albeit grudgingly (there was far too much to do for her to be sitting down), letting his arms envelope her. "You didn't get this crazy when Cam and Matt and Chris came over." He pointed out when her back stiffened.

"But, this is Luke. He's like my second dad, my good dad. I care what he thinks of where we live. I care if he thinks I did the right thing. I don't want him to come here, see the way we live, go home, and return with Kirk's moving crew to take me back to Stars Hollow. I want him to be ok with me living here with you." Her voice sounded small, and her eyes were filled with fear. Jess nodded, understanding her completely. He wanted Luke to be ok with them living together too. He didn't want her to go anywhere soon either.

The writer pulled the young mother closer in his arms. She had a few scared tears falling softly down her cheeks. She didn't full out sob, but she let the tears slip past her eyelids. He held her, kissing her hair when she breathed shaky breaths. "I want him to be ok with it too." He admitted when she stopped crying, and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'll take Lola to work with me tomorrow. Cam's been asking when you guys will be by again. That'll give you the entire day tomorrow to clean, and wig out as much as you want before Luke gets here at five. We can go out to dinner so that you don't have to worry about dirty dishes, and so I don't have to worry about you burning the building down. Sound good?" He placed a finger under her chin, willing her to look up at him.

"I don't have any clothes that are acceptable for going out to dinner." She was smiling again, and Jess knew she was ok with the plan. He laughed with her, and handed her his debit card.

"Buy yourself something pretty." He joked, causing her to laugh harder in response. She shot him a devilish smirk while placing the card in her wallet. "I can feel my bank account emptying."

 **XXX**

That morning, Rory had been up bright and early. She made sure that Jess had all he would need to take care of Lola at Truncheon (more like all that Cam would need since she would obviously swoop in as soon as Jess stepped through the front door), and she got a head start on her cleaning. She wanted the afternoon for shopping, which she might call Cam to come and help her choose later.

"We're taking off," Jess called into the bathroom that Rory was currently ridding of all grime. She came out looking like she was ready for a chemical war with her goggles and yellow gloves. She kissed Lola's soft baby head, rechecking the baby bag. "Don't worry, I've got everything." He pulled the bag away from her reach. She growled at him playfully, but didn't try to get it back.

"Bring my baby home! Don't let Cam steal her!" She shouted down the hall as they left. Jess chuckled and waved as he got into the elevator with the baby. It was surprisingly empty for that time of morning, but the man couldn't complain. He did not like being in the elevator with a butt load of other people while carrying Lola's car seat.

True to her word, Cam immediately grabbed at the baby carrier when Jess walked through the doors. "Coming with Daddy to work today?" She cooed at the blonde baby. Her friend rolled his eyes, trying to remain calm.

"I'm not 'Daddy,'" He told the brown eyed woman. He turned to Lola, a smile plastering his face. "I'm Jess, yes." He was using the baby voice, and Cam was cracking up at the way he spoke to the infant. "Yeah." He nodded his head slowly and obviously. "Don't confuse her!" He shouted up the stairs when Cam ran off with the baby.

"No promises!" She yelled back to him; he shook his head. That poor kid. Jess took a seat at his desk, pulling out a manuscript that was horrible at best. Hopefully, he could help the writer get it good enough that people would actually buy it. He wasn't able to get far.

"Mariano!" Chris came rushing down the stairs, holding Lola at arm's length. "Your kid stinks." He handed over the now crying baby.

"She's not my kid," He replied, his friends were getting on his nerves. "I thought Cam was taking care of her." He began walking and bouncing to get the baby to calm down a bit before he changed her diaper. Note to self, never leave Chris alone with children. Chris looked up the stairs then back to his friend.

"She, uh, got distracted." He kept glancing up the stairs. "So did Matt." Jess fake gagged and groaned. At least he didn't have to go up there for the diaper bag that Cam had left downstairs.

Lola finally calmed down enough that changing her diaper would be easier, so the man holding her reached for the bag. He spread out the blanket behind his desk, and made funny faces like Rory did while changing her diaper. He waved the Ernest Hemingway plushy in her face when she began to fuss, but all in all the change went well. Cam came down the stairs as he put away the bag. "You left her alone with Chris," Jess shook his head condescendingly at the woman. "So you could mess around with Matt." She shrugged.

"I'll be better this time, I promise!" Her hands were outstretched to take Lola back. The writer shook his head again, this one a bit more serious. "Come one, Jess. Let me have some Aunty Cam time." She stomped her foot childishly.

"It's time for her nap." He explained, rubbing the baby's back and oscillating in small circles. Jess walked around the room and waited for Lola to fall asleep. Cam had gone upstairs to inform the guys that they had to be quiet, and the man with the baby quickly wrote a note to place on the doors. He did not need a most likely high writer coming in and waking up his roommate's baby.

While Lola slept, Jess was able to get a decent amount of editing done. He reached the point he wanted to be at for that day, so he worked on his own book. He had gained some inspiration while living with Rory and her daughter, inspiration that he knew his publisher would love. His new publisher, at least; the guys seemed to love anything he wrote. He still didn't know why. When Lola woke up, he had a good chunk written. Jess took the hungry baby as a godsend that gave him a reason not to work. It did ruin a bit of his reputation when a poet (a harder poet than the one who spoke only about love and weird stuff) came to meet with Matt, and caught him speaking in the baby voice while holding a bottle.

Eventually, Jess just placed the baby on a blanket on the floor where she wouldn't be stepped on with her Ernest Hemingway plushy. He even ended up sitting on the floor next to her to ensure that she really didn't get stepped on, alternating between work and playing with her. He learned that that was a good way to waste time, and before he knew it, it was nearing five. Lola was being all cutesy and waving her little arms and legs around when Luke walked in.

"Jess?" He asked his nephew who was sitting cross legged next to the baby on the blanket. He reached for Lola, and stood up to reach his uncle's height. They hugged as best as possible with a baby in the middle. Said baby giggled as she was squished between the two of them. "This is her?" Luke pointed at the baby in his nephew's arms.

"Yeah, this is Lola." Jess nodded, bouncing lightly. The older of the two grinned at the baby, moving his fingers in front of her face in a little wave. The writer had never seen his uncle like this around anyone, let alone kids. He remembered a time when he said they had jam hands. "So, Rory is back at the apartment. She wanted to get some cleaning done before you got there. Do you know how long you'll be staying?"

Luke held up a tiny bag. "Just one night, I've gotta get back to the diner. And I didn't want to impose." He smiled brightly as he looked around the place. "Y-you were right about the mess." He pointed at the desks that were littered with papers. Jess shrugged.

"You caught us on a good day." He joked while putting Lola back into her car seat. She protested slightly, but was quiet when her plushy was in her arms. Jess pointed towards the door, carrying Lola's things. "You can follow me to the apartment." Leading the way out, he refrained from talking in the baby voice to Lola. He could deal with playing with the baby, but he would never live it down if his uncle heard him speaking in a baby voice.

However, the baby voice was inevitable when Lola began squalling on the ride home. She was still crying when the car came to a stop at the apartment building. Jess picked her up, brushing his hand across her red face. "Hey, Blondie. None of that. You miss your mom, don't you? Well, she misses you too." His reputation was officially ended as Luke came up behind him, holding back his laughter. "Come on, Blondie. Uncle Luke's being real mean." The comment as directed at the cackling diner owner. Although, Jess did end up chuckling along with the older man.

"Rory!" He called into the apartment; Lola's cries hadn't quieted a bit. Rory came rushing out of her room in a stunning blue dress. She had the spit up rag perfectly poised on her shoulder, ready to catch anything from getting on her new dress. She took the baby from his arms, smiling softly as his eyes raked up and down her body. "You look great." He sputtered.

"Yes, I do!" Her face was close to Lola's and her voice was soft and cute. She smiled widely at her daughter before placing her on her shoulder. "Did you miss Mama today? Mama missed you!" She brought the baby from her back to blow kisses on her chubby cheeks. That calmed her a bit, but she still screamed. "When did she last eat?" No longer the cutesy voice, but the mom voice.

Jess checked his watch. "About two hours ago, two and a half." His eyes flicked back to hers. She nodded, brown hair swaying. "Her last change was like, I don't know, half an hour ago." He thought back to the day at Truncheon. Rory smiled down at her baby, nodding long, ostentatious nods.

"Someone's hungry!" Then before anyone could say 'baby formula,' the two Gilmore girls were in Rory's room. Luke watched the whole scene play out with interest. They fit together like puzzle pieces, and Lola seemed to like Jess. Not like he knew better, Luke had never been around children let alone babies often. He noticed his nephew's smile, something that he had didn't see much of.

"You'll be staying in my room. Rory was busy washing the sheets last night." Jess picked up his uncle's bag, and walked towards his room. He saw the look on the diner owner's face, and was quick to ease his worries. "Really, it's fine. The couch is comfortable." He placed the bag down on the bed. Luke nodded, accepting that he couldn't do anything about it.

They walked out at the same time as Rory. Her face lit up when she saw Luke, and she was eager to wrap her arms around him. Jess saved Lola just in time. "Luke!" She squealed. "I've missed you!" Her grip tightened when Luke wrapped his arms around his surrogate daughter's frame.

"I've missed you, too. Everyone has, really." His gaze was nice, but there was something else in his eyes. Rory couldn't place it, but it confused her. She smiled politely, and reached for her daughter. "Uh, actually, Kirk was placing 'Lost Rory' posters around town." Luke tried to put a positive spin on the conversation. It did cause her to chuckle, so he could feel confident that she wasn't all against the town she grew up in.

They sat around there awkwardly before heading down to the cars. Luke would once again follow in his truck to the restaurant they had chosen. They pulled into a nice place that sold good burgers (at least that's what Matt and Cam said, neither Rory nor Jess had actually been there before), and walked towards an overly peppy hostess. She clumsily led them to their table where Jess and Luke sat on one side, and Rory sat with Lola's carrier on the other (babysitters were overrated).

"Don't worry, Luke. They have venison burgers here too." Jess pointed out as they looked over the menu. Rory withheld a giggle, remembering all the times Luke had wanted to change their eating habits. The older man nodded, clearly lost in thought. He didn't know what to say about this whole Jess and Rory situation, but it looked to him like they fit perfectly. Like puzzle pieces. Rory didn't like the awkward silence one bit.

"So, Luke, how's April?" She hoped to get a conversation flowing.

"Oh, yeah. She's good. She, uh, lives in New Mexico now because of Anna's mother. But, she's good. We talk most days, and yeah…" Typical Luke, not indulging much into his personal life. Once again, the silence that coated them was stuffy and odd. "So, Lola. Where'd you get the idea for that?" At least he tried to keep the conversation running. Maybe not the best of topics (the name Lorelai), but it was a topic nonetheless.

"I was thinking about how Mom had been right about the whole name thing, so I named her Lorelai. But there are way too many of us out there, and I didn't want her getting confused. And Lori is just so overdone that I decided on Lola. It's kind of different, Copa Cabana-ish." In her mind, the song "Copa Cabana" started playing. Rory caught Jess's eye, and she could tell he was thinking the same thing. Luke nodded dutifully.

"That's good." They were running out of things to talk about. The younger two shared a look, nothing came to mind. Luke uneasily drank his water. Thankfully, the waitress came to take their orders, relieving them of some tension. After that, the conversation went smoothly when Rory asked Luke if he had a pen, to which he replied no. It was easy light conversations once the ball was rolling.

Halfway through the meal, Lola alerted the table of her discomfort with a loud wail. Rory leaned down, scrunching her nose when she picked up the baby. She didn't say a word, just picked up the baby bag and walked towards the bathroom. She had made eye contact with Jess, but he already knew what she had to do as soon as Lola had cried. Luke looked at the way Jess watched Rory walk away with concern. He feared that his nephew was becoming too attached to the Gilmore girls.

"It's funny when she spends like a few hours away from the baby, she's happy to spend her time changing diapers 'cause she misses her so much." Jess mused, further confusing Luke. Jess never willingly spoke about random stuff, never. Yet, here he was mentioning off hand comments about Rory and Lola like he had never been a recluse.

When Rory returned, Luke thought he might try his hand at holding the baby. "May I?" He inquired to the mother as she walked up. She nodded and smiled graciously, excited for Luke to hold her daughter. Lola was light, and smiled up at the diner owner. She gurgled happily while wiggling her feet in the air.

"Aw, she likes you!" Rory gushed, taking a bight of her food. Really, Lola liked anyone who held her, but this was Luke; he was special. Luke beamed at the baby, and noticed both Rory and Jess grinning at him. He tried bouncing her lightly, earning a few more giggles and a bigger smile. After a few minutes, the blonde baby yawned adorably and rubbed at her eyes. "Someone's tired." Her mother sing songed, and Luke handed her over to Jess.

It was their cue to leave when Lola got too tired and restless. They were walking out, and Luke couldn't help but think how domestic the two twenty-somethings looked with the baby. They looked like they belonged together (which he had always thought they did); especially, with Jess keeping Lola propped up against his shoulder while Rory rummaged through the baby bag. He had to come from his thoughts though when they reached the cars and headed back to the apartment.

Upon entering, Rory was quick to put Lola to sleep. She came back out in a pair of Jess's sweats, and Luke wondered what they weren't telling him. She slipped onto the couch next to the man who had practically raised her holding two pictures. She looked sheepish, but was emboldened while looking at the images. "These are for you," She breathed. Luke saw they were pictures of her, Lola, and Jess at Truncheon. "H-here's one to keep at the diner; you can show it to anyone who asks about me. And this one… This one…" She faltered, a few tears stinging at her eyes. "Uh, can you give it to Mom?"

The man took the pictures in his rough hands, smiling at the faces. "Of course." He replied. She pulled him in for a hug. She whipped a few phantom tears from her cheeks and stood up.

"Thanks. I'm going to go to sleep because Lola will be up all night, and I want to sleep while I can. And I apologize in advance if she wakes you up tonight. Jess complains about how thin the walls are." Luke nodded, and gave her one last hug before she went to sleep. He watched her hug Jess goodnight, and he pretended he didn't notice the dorky smile on his nephew's face. He also pretended that later that night he didn't hear Jess go into Rory's room. And he pretended he didn't see him exit it late that morning. There was a lot of pretending that night.

 **XXX**

Luke's old pickup truck was easily spotted when he returned to town. He had barely stepped out of his car when he was ambushed by townsfolk. They had figured out he had gone to visit Jess, and somehow (he wasn't exactly sure how it could have ever gotten out) they had figured out Rory was staying with the reformed hoodlum. "Oh, Luke, darling. You must tell us how Rory and the baby are doing!" Patty exclaimed walking into the diner. When she said that, everyone else ambushed him worse than they had when he got out of his car.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the picture. He let the people oo and ah at it, and answered all their questions. "She's six weeks now… Yeah, her name's Lola… Yep, another Lorelai. No, they're not together… Believe me I know they're not together…" The rest of his afternoon was spent doing a Q and A about Rory and her daughter. As soon as the last person had left (Kirk after some persuasion i.e. Luke yelling at him to get out or else he would personally chop down the new tree he kept going on about), Luke made sure to get to Lorelai's so that she would find out from him and not the town gossips.

He knocked on the door of the Crap Shack, pleasantly surprised when Lorelai opened the door without hesitation. He held up the picture, and she snatched at it. Her eyes welled with tears as she looked upon the face of her daughter and granddaughter. "She's fine. She's in Philadelphia with Jess. She named the baby Lorelai, but they call her Lola. She's six weeks old, and no Jess and Rory are not together." He explained as her tears slipped down her face.

Her hands covered her mouth, and for the first time ever, Lorelai Gilmore was speechless. She nodded slowly, thanked the man, and returned to the confines of her house. She sat down on the couch, and let the sobs take over her body. Her baby was ok. Her baby's baby was ok. She stood up after the tears had finally been all cried out. She walked into the kitchen, and placed the picture on the fridge. Lorelai pretended that Rory herself gave her the photo.

Then, she turned around and made some coffee.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Hey all! Oh my word thank you all so much for the reviews last week! I'm grateful that you all feel like this story is the ending we never got for Literati, cause that was kind of why I wrote it in the first place, and then it magically matched up with the revival! So, if you haven't noticed Gravity is a Bitch is officially done, so I can now focus all my attention on this story! Yay! Well, happy reading, happy week, and please review they are greatly appreciated!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

A few weeks had passed since Luke had been to Philly. He still kept in contact regularly with Jess, and occasionally he would talk to Rory to inform her on the town happenings. They never talked about Lorelai though. That was a subject that could easily avoided.

Lola was now two and a half months old. Her eyes had changed from the blue to brown, and her hair had even begun to darken. Not by much, but no longer was her hair a white blonde, more medium shade. It was cute when Rory tried to place the growing baby's hair into a small pig tail. It usually fell out five minutes later, but it looked adorable while it lasted. Most people were surprised how much hair she had at such a young age.

Rory had done a lot around the apartment, and it was starting to get boring. Occasionally, she would go with Jess to Truncheon, but she didn't have much to help out with there. She had begun finding random things to fill her time like journaling, taking pictures of Lola on a disposable camera, or Jess's personal favorite: learning to cook. Rory spent hours on YouTube, looking up how to do things and searching up different recipes to try. She hadn't burned the apartment down yet, but she did blacken a few pieces of perfectly good bread.

It was odd to see her cooking. It was one thing her mother had never done, neither had her grandmother, and there had been a time in her life when she mysteriously burned cereal. She started with small, easy things. Her first batch of pancakes ever had been charred, but the second was a nice dark brown color without the rock like texture. So, they had called it a success. However, Jess was taking burnt pancakes to work for lunch for a week.

The most fun she had cooking was when he taught her. He had showed her how to make eggs and bacon, and she had quickly graduated to waffles and sausage. Then came the lunch food, but those were so basic anyone could do it (even Lola, if she had control over her limbs). Dinners had been fun. Rory had come up with an intricate recipe that Jess wasn't even sure Sookie could make right. He had returned her down to earth with a simple potato soup. In the end, they did make that complicated recipe; from then on Rory felt invincible in her cooking.

However, baking was another story. Desserts were the most difficult foods for a Gilmore to prepare. She remembered growing up and ruining icing (ruining simple white icing and food coloring was a monstrous task), so when Jess came home one night holding bags of ingredients to make chocolate chip pumpkin bread (the only way he could convince her to eat a "healthy" dessert), she had nearly dropped the pan she was holding. "But-but… I'm making shrimp scampi. That doesn't go with chocolate. Or pumpkin."

"Never thought I'd hear you say that," He quipped, placing the bags on the small amount of empty counterspace. Rory's eyes widened with every ingredient. She caught Jess's smirk, but didn't return it. Instead, she continued making dinner with her back turned to him. She had an evil glint in her blue eyes when she swooped Lola away from him right before they sat down to eat. He shot her a fake glare, and didn't reciprocate her evil smile.

They ate in silence, save for the clanking of utensils on plates. It was difficult not having a conversation while they ate. She was aching to hear about his day, craving a taste of the world outside the apartment. She knew she was allowed to go out and do whatever she pleased, but she felt like her place right now was here. She didn't want to leave no matter how much she suffered from cabin fever. It worried Jess that she wasn't going out, but he did know that as a teenager she had always been the stay at home and study type. Even though she had nothing to study anymore.

She wordlessly stood up, keeping up with their little whatever they were calling it. It definitely wasn't a fight, but it wasn't exactly a game either. Rory took Lola to go be put down, leaving Jess with all the dirty dishes. She stayed in her room about ten minutes after the baby had fallen asleep in hopes that he had done what she wanted. She stepped back into the kitchen and rolled her eyes.

Jess _had_ put away the dishes, but he had gotten more out while she was gone. He was wearing a dorky apron that he must have bought that day, and held out one for her too. She looked at the ingredients for the pumpkin bread. "Have fun." She turned from him. He grabbed her around the waste, pulling her back into the kitchen. He sat her up on the counter, and she struggled while he tried to put the apron on her.

Rory hopped off the counter, her face red, her apron reading 'Caution: Extremely Hot.' She was mortified that he had bought that for her. She was even more mortified when she read the apron he was wearing, 'I'm Sexy and I Gnome it,' with a gnome on it. "Pierpont!" She yelled before slipping underneath him. He yanked at her arms, and she fell forward into his.

"No ya don't!" He exclaimed, pulling her towards a bowl and beater. She was playfully fighting his grip, but in actuality, she loved it. Jess kept his arms securely around Rory while he guided her hands to put the dry ingredients in the bowl. He should have known something was coming when she reached around for the flour like she was ready to put it in the bowl. Instead, it ended up on his face and in his hair.

"Payback!" She yelled, jumping free from his grasp. She missed his warmth, but would have to deal if they were going to continue with their war. Jess smirked evilly, and reached into the pumpkin goop. "No, Jess!" She squealed as he approached. He nodded slowly, and smashed the pumpkin goop into her hair. She let out a groan of annoyance, and reached for the eggs.

"No, Ror! That's a really bad idea!" Jess ducked when she threw them. They hit the wall with a satisfying crack, but not satisfying enough for Rory. She grabbed another, and cornered her roommate. She stepped close, swiftly dodging his arms, and crushed the egg shells against his head. "It is on!" He maneuvered around her, grabbing whatever food stuffs he could get his hands on.

Before they knew it, there was nothing left to make the pumpkin bread. And Lola was crying. "I got it." Jess stepped from the room. He did deserve some Lola time; she had been so expertly kidnapped from his arms before dinner after all. Rory sighed, looking around at the mess they had made. She placed her hand on her head, cringing slightly at the sticky feel of eggs and pumpkin gunk. "Crisis averted." Jess walked back in to see his roommate scrubbing down the stove.

He grabbed another rag, and helped her clean the kitchen. It was going to take forever, but they had an hour or two before Lola woke up again. And he was his own boss, so if they spent a good amount of the night cleaning then he could go in later. Rory reached for the mop, and she started singing into it while moving it around the incredibly dirty floor. "Now, I've had the time of my life." She sang in a low voice like the beginning of the song. She swung the mop around as her dance partner.

Before long, she completely discarded the mop, and pulled Jess in to dance with her. She continued to sing "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" horribly, but it didn't sound so bad when Jess jumped in. They continued dancing dorkily around the kitchen, occasionally cleaning things up as they went. Rory had been humming the jazzy part and dancing skill-lessly when her legs tangled up, and she toppled to the floor. Taking the writer down with her.

They fell to the floor with a loud thump; both surprised at how the events had changed. They lay there on the floor for a few seconds before Jess finally realized the compromising position they were in. He quickly jumped up, and held out his hand to help her up. Rory face was beet read, and she turned away and went back to the cleaning they were supposed to be doing. She remembered the last time they had been in that position. Her face heated up even more. She choked when his hand accidentally swished across her backside (it wasn't accidental).

"Cam gave me a book to give to you," He started, not making eye contact as they continued to do the dishes. Rory stopped for a moment, glad they had moved on from the previous embarrassing fall. "You haven't read _The Other Boleyn Girl_ , have you?" Jess looked up to see her hair covering her blushing face, but it shook with her head. He left the room, and she let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

She whipped around, not realizing he was walking towards her at that moment. She ran right into him, almost falling down for the second time that night. He gracefully caught her before any real damage could be done. She realized then that she was being held rather tightly in his arms, pressed right up against his torso. Her cheeks once again flushed, and she couldn't remember how to breathe. "Here's the, uh, the book." His voice was low, and his breath was hot against her cheek.

"Th-thanks…" She mumbled, tearing the book from his hands. She blushed, and he smirked because he was making her turn a pretty shade of red. She avoided all eye contact as they finished cleaning up the kitchen. He tried to get her attention with stupid little things, but her eyes always trailed back to the dishes or spilt ingredient she had been cleaning. "I'm gonna, gonna, uh. I'm going to bed…" She stammered. He nodded, watching her go tiredly.

 **XXX**

Rory woke with a fright. Her arms flew around her head, she knew she had to have yelled in her sleep, and she was cold because all of her covers were strewn across the floor. She was relieved to see Lola still sleeping peacefully, but that only brought warm tears to her eyes. She jumped out of bed as the tears came rushing like a waterfall; Rory stumbled out of the room needing him. Her cries turned to sobs when she hurried into his room nearly slamming the door upon entering.

Jess heard the door slam to his room, and he bolted up. He saw Rory's outline convulsing with sobs, and he pulled her into his arms. She cried into his chest while he led her to sit down on the side of his bed. "What happened, Rory?" He worriedly asked her. Her body still shook with force, and she lay down. He lay down next to her, hugging her close as she screamed.

"I…" She couldn't form a coherent sentence before her body wracked with more sobs. Jess shushed her, placing a kiss to her forehead. She shrunk underneath his covers, her body shaking intensely. She felt his warmth, and her cries escalated in sound. He was there, he was alive.

"Shhh… It's ok." He whispered into her hair. She convulsed with the words, hearing him speak, feeling him near her, knowing he was there. "It's ok." His voice was soft, but it was a bit more insistent this time. Her tears were now soaking his shirt, and he couldn't calm her down at all. It worried him, the way she was freaking out. "Rory, what happened?" He tried again.

Her head shook back and forth as she covered her face with her hands. She moved her body closer to his (if that was even possible). He squeezed her tight, hoping to assure her that she was safe. "L-Logan…" She couldn't get anything else out. Jess stiffened when she mentioned the blond father of her child.

"What'd he do?" He seethed. He couldn't believe that Logan had tried something, so far after his daughter had been born. Why was he trying something now? It was just horrible, and the definition of the jerk he is. Once again, Rory shook her head, further confusing Jess.

"I-It was a-a dr-dream…" Her sobs grew larger. He nodded, and placed his chin on the top of her head. She shook thinking about the dream. It was horrible; she had no clue how her subconscious could come up with a scenario such as the one she dreamed about. "Oh gosh…" She wanted to talk about it, tell him what she had feared, have him hold and comfort her, but she couldn't bring herself to retell the horrible events that had transpired in her dream world.

He rubbed circles on her back, wanting to calm her. She still shuddered. He placed his hand on her cheek, using his thumb to wipe away the tears. Her eyes screwed tight, and she breathed shakily. "It was just a dream." He pressed a long kiss to her forehead. Then a shorter one on the tip of her nose. He looked at her lips, yearning to press one to them as they moved quickly while she mumbled. He didn't; self-control was what he was calling it. More like hell.

"It w-was h-horrible-le." She nearly screamed, forcing her face into his chest. He kept kissing her brown locks, letting her move closely to him even if it was getting uncomfortable. She moved her hands from her face, so that her arms were now surrounding his torso, making him even closer than he had been before. "I feel sick…" She bolted from the room. The dream had made her physically ill, and now Jess had to know what it was about as he heard her retching.

Her hair had been pulled up prior to falling asleep, so he didn't need to be the cliché guy that held her hair back. She continued to throw up, her tears mixing with the barf. She finished and sat back; her body shaking profusely. Jess wrapped a protective arm around her body, and she melted into his touch. Rory rubbed at her face, then leaned over the toilet again. When she leaned back again, he ran his hand up and down her arms to warm her.

"Ror, you gotta tell me. It's not good for you to be keeping this inside of you." He murmured into her ear. She shuddered (this time not from the crying). Her mouth tasted horrible when she thought about the dream (and all that she had just thrown up). She wanted to spit back into his face how much he hid from her in the past, but she kept her mouth shut considering it wouldn't be good for where their relationship currently was.

"L-Logan," Saying his name also brought a bad taste to her mouth, but she had to tell Jess about the dream. It was the only way to make her feel better. "Um, well… B-before I t-tell you about the dream… Uh, L-Logan he asked me to, to marry him. I said no b-because I knew he was only doing it since I w-was pregnant. He g-got angry, and that was wh-why I broke up with him. Also, he decided that, that it was a-all or nothing. So, he d-doesn't want anyth-thing to do with us.

"But in my dream, he c-came back. And he was angry, since I'm living with you. He didn't want me living here, and he d-didn't want you around Lola. I don't even know how, bu-but he h-had a gun," She was no longer talking, but sobbing again. Her head once again pressed against his chest. He knew where this dream was going. "And, and then he-he took Lola away from me. Away from us." The way she said us, made him (despite the connotation and situation they were in) smile. Her sobs escalated when she finished telling him her dream.

She cried for what felt like hours, but in reality, it was maybe five to ten minutes. Jess rocked her, shushing her lovingly, and humming a nonexistent tune that he had made up on the spot. It seemed to calm her down, and her sobs quieted to whimpers. As the time passed, Jess's back grew stiff, and he laid down against the wall. "You ready to go back to sleep?" He whispered.

"I can't g-go back to sleep. Wh-when I close m-my eyes, I see you dy-dying." Another round of sobs came, just when he thought she was done. He began rocking her again, kissing her hair, whispering how he wasn't leaving her. She kept shaking her head, trying to rid her mind of the images of Jess dying. He effortlessly picked her up, knowing she would eventually want to be in bed.

He carried her to his room since her crying would obviously wake up Lola. Although, he heard the wails of the baby as they passed by. Rory couldn't hear her daughter since her own sobs were so intense, and the way she screamed as Jess pulled away to retrieve the baby were haunting. He didn't leave his room, but grabbed her around the waist to ensure she knew he was still there, still alive, still with her. "Ror, I'm just getting Lola. I'm not going anywhere." He assured her before stepping into the hallway.

She seemed to be a bit more ok with him leaving for Lola, whom she had lost during her dream as well. "She's hungry," He stated walking into the room. Rory nodded, taking the baby from his arms and unbuttoning her top. "I'll um…" He felt awkward, especially when she grabbed at his arm.

"No, don't go." Her voice was thick, and he realized that if he left she would cry even more. She grabbed a light sheet, placing it over the baby and herself. Jess relaxed somewhat, and Rory leaned into his chest. She loved the way he was just there. Lola was done eating, and the mother smiled at how the baby curled into her. She felt loved, with both Jess and the baby so close to her. Her nightmare didn't feel so bad anymore.

"Look, Ror, it was just a dream. We both know that even though Logan's a jerk, he wouldn't kill me. He wouldn't take Lola away from you either." He explained to the woman lying in his arms. She nodded lightly, tracing her fingers along her daughter's back, placing her head on his shoulder. "I would never let him take Lola away from you." He fought the urge to say 'us' like she had after her little bought of sickness. He didn't because he didn't know how her functioning mind would take him saying that.

"I know," She mumbled, sleep finally overtaking her. Jess smiled, and slowly propped her up against the headboard to go put Lola back in her crib. He thought he heard Rory whimper, so he bolted back into his room as soon as Lola was safely placed in her crib. Rory had started crying again, and Jess made sure she was securely wrapped in his arms. Her face was once again buried in his chest, her dream coming back to her in full force. "Please don't leave me…" She sobbed.

Jess's head shook even though she wasn't looking up at him. His grip grew tighter around her waist. "Never." He reassured her. He was never leaving them.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Hey guys! I am sorry to say that this is going to be a short chapter! But, it is a rather (in my opinion) good few steps forward in the right direction. It's kind of dialogue-ish, I was kind of struggling with a bought of writer's block, but it's all good now! I am currently working on chapter 16 of this story, so I am moving along well with the schedule! I'm actually not sure how many chapters this will end up being, but I know it'll be more than Gravity is a Bitch. I hope you like this chapter, and please don't forget to review! Happy reading! And if you're one of the lucky ones like me, happy snow!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

The next day, neither one mentioned it. Throughout that week, Rory had taken to sleeping with Jess in his room. She felt safer going to sleep with his arms around her, she felt safer knowing he would be there when she woke up, and she felt safest when he brought Lola to her and they looked like a little family. She felt more like a family with him than she ever could have with Logan. That was why she had refused his marriage proposal.

Earlier that week, Jess had either not gone to work or taken Rory with him to Truncheon. Cam had loved it, being around the girls all day. Rory did end up getting bored, but Jess had quickly put her to work which made her happy and full of energy. The way her face lit up having something to do (other than being a phenomenal mother to Lola), caused Jess to think maybe she needed to get back into the world.

She had just finished ordering their dinner on the way home from work, and she felt his eyes on her even though he should have been driving. "Eyes on the road," She muttered, turning up the radio. "I don't want to get into another car crash, and we don't want Lola scarred at such a young age." She joked, ruffling his hair a bit. Jess chuckled lightly, and made sure his head was facing the road and not her.

He was close to mentioning how beautiful she was, but he stopped himself. The rest of the car ride was quiet. It wasn't an uncomfortable quiet, but it gave them (mostly him) time to think. The car pulled up to the curb of their apartment building, and Rory wasn't quick to get out. Jess looked over at her quizzically, before reaching in to get Lola. "Are you ok?" He asked tentatively. She snapped from her thoughts and smiled before nodding.

They weren't even in the apartment when the pizzaman came to the door. He smiled politely at the adults, made funny faces at the baby, and then left quickly with his tip. "Do you think he thought we were waiting out there for him?" Jess laughed, unlocking the door. Rory giggled lightly and unbuckled Lola from her seat. He placed the pizza on the coffee table in the living room, and she eagerly snuggled into the blanket on the couch with Lola still cuddled in her arms.

They watched reruns on _Little House on the Prairie_ on Hallmark. It was cute when Rory hummed the theme song, and he found it adorable when she cried with the characters. It was even cuter when she hid her face into his neck. It was a domestic picture with them sitting on the couch, eating pizza, watching _Little House_ , and Lola peacefully sleeping between them. "I should probably put her down." Rory kissed the baby's blonde locks. Jess grabbed the pizza box to put the left overs away.

She returned in her sweatpants, a bright smile playing at her lips. "What's got you so happy?" He inquired when she sat beside him. Her smile never wavered, and she curled up into his side.

"I just like being here with you." She turned her attention back to the TV, and he just beamed at her. She tapped on his chest, and his gaze fell on her elated countenance. He watched her for a few moments before brushing a stray piece of hair from her rosy cheeks.

"Do you want to go back to school?" He wondered as the episode was coming to a close. Rory's eyebrows knit together.

"I don't know… Why?" She sat up, and he missed the feeling of her against his body.

"You just looked really happy today, working, having something to do. I thought you might want to go back to school…" He reasoned. She looked a bit upset.

"Do you want me gone?" She asked somberly. Jess shook his head quickly. He quickly drew her in for another hug to calm her fears.

"No, no. I just want you happy. You looked happy when I put you to work. If school makes you happy, then go to school. I just want to make sure you're happy here, and there are schools around here. You can finish, and still live in Philly." He explained. Rory watched him curiously; her eyes searching for a hint of a lie. She came up with nothing, only the sincere glint in his eyes.

"I don't know. I mean, I guess I've thought about it…" Her eyes flicked from his face to the TV. "But I've been thinking more of an online class. That way I can be around all the time for Lola, and I wouldn't have to leave here." She rambled on about her plans for going back to college. It made him smile, knowing that she wasn't giving up on her schooling. It had always been a part of Rory, and Jess would have hated to watch her give it up.

He was close to kissing her to stop her rambling. He didn't, but he wanted to. She kept talking, her mouth moving a mile a minute. Her smile was a legitimate smile, and her eyes were the brightest he had seen in a long time. "You're going back to school." He kissed her forehead, but she didn't stop bouncing in her spot.

"I'm going back to school!" She practically jumped into his arms.

 **XXX**

"Lola, Lola, Lola!" Rory sing songed when the baby woke up the next morning. She carried her back to Jess's room, and she refrained from jumping on top of the sleeping man. However, Jess did wake up when Rory crawled into his open arms. "Good morning!" She chirped. Ever since last night, the brunette had been in a great mood. She had gladly woken up to take care of her daughter throughout the night, and she would smile brightly at Jess when she returned even though he couldn't see her.

"Morning." He smiled down at her as she played with Lola's blonde hair. "You ready to go to work?" He yawned. Rory's blue eyes were bright with excitement as she nodded quickly. She handed the baby to her roommate, and she raced for the shower. Jess grinned at her excitement. He continued to lay in bed until she came back to get the baby ready.

"Look at you, Big Girl!" Jess said in his baby voice. "Three months, you're getting so big." Lola gurgled, not understanding a word the man said. He twirled his fingers in front of her brown eyes, and she grabbed at them. Her grip was strong on his pointer finger, and she pulled it down to her face. Jess pulled her up higher in his grasp, and he placed soft, smacking kisses all over her face and blonde head.

"You're gonna be just like your mom when you grow up," He whispered close to her face. She giggled, scrunching up her eyes. Rory came in just as he was talking about all of her accomplishments, and how Lola was going to grow up and do all she had done. It brought tears to her eyes. "See," Jess pointed at Rory. She smiled a watery smile that was filled with happiness. "Beautiful, just like your mom."

She fell onto the bed happily, and she fought the urge to kiss the man. This life she was living here, in Philadelphia, was so much better than the one she would be living in Connecticut. His voice was soft, and he continued to whisper cute little sayings in her ear. She knew years ago that this was the type of person he was, but the town had been too blinded to see it. She wished they could see him the way he was now. "Jess," She began as a thought popped into her mind. He hummed, waiting for her to go on. "I think, I think I want to make a trip home." Her words resonated in the quiet room.

"When?" He asked. It surprised her how he just went along with it. Logan would have had to be coaxed, and even then he might not have gone.

"Next week?" She thought aloud. Jess nodded, thinking about the things he had going on next week.

"I'll call Luke, and I'll need your help this week so I can get all the editing I need done. It'll be better that way so I don't have to work next week. Do you want to stay above Luke's or do you want to get a room at the inn?" He was working the plans out in his head. If all went well this week, he wouldn't have to work at all the following. Plus, Rory loved helping him at work.

"The inn…" She murmured. Jess smiled, maybe this would be a step closer to reconciling between the elder Gilmore girls. "Let's go to work." She jumped up from the bed, and got Lola ready for the day at Truncheon. He followed closely behind, they were going to be late if they didn't hurry now.

Upon entering the store, Cam nearly ran them over. She grabbed at Lola, and she and Rory walked off to go talk upstairs. Jess heard her yell, "I'm going back to school." It made his smile grow and envelope his entire countenance. Matt and Chris watched him quizzically, considering Jess Mariano didn't smile like that ever. He excused himself a few moments later to make a call.

"Hey, Luke." Jess knew his uncle could hear the smile in his voice. Luke was surprised to be hearing from Jess though.

"Did I forget to call?" He asked. He thought for sure that they had already talked that week. The diner owner stepped away from the counter when he noticed Lorelai walk in. Jess heard a door slamming, and he knew that his uncle had gone into the store room again.

"No, actually, Rory wants to visit Stars Hollow." Luke thought he was hearing things.

"Rory wants to come back to Stars Hollow?" He made sure that Jess had said what he thought he said. The younger man nodded, he had to stop doing that while talking on the phone.

"Yeah, she suggested it this morning. We were lying in bed—"

"You were what?!" Luke was close to losing his hat.

"No, we're not together." Jess calmed his uncle's fears. "She had a really bad nightmare the other night, and for like the past week she's been sleeping in my room. It's completely innocent. She just wants to make sure I'm still there." He explained, calmly.

On the other end, Luke let out a sigh of relief. "Do you guys need a place to stay?" He asked, running the next week through his mind.

"Um, actually…" Jess ran his hand through his hair. He was excited about how this week would go, and he didn't know how to broach the subject to his uncle. "She wants to stay at the inn." A hint of a smile graced the older man's face. "I'm calling there next."

"Do it soon. Lorelai's here now, so if you call now you can just get Michel." Luke told him quickly.

"Ok, well. I'll see you next week." Jess had never smiled this much in his life. They hung up, and Jess quickly dialed the Dragonfly. He heard the annoyed voice of Michel, and knew that this week would work out just fine.

At the diner, Luke stepped out of the store room beaming. Lorelai stared at him worriedly. "You've never been that happy after a call from April." She mused. "Or was that some weirdo service line?" She fake gasped. Luke shook his head.

"No, bacon." He replied. Lorelai watched him confusedly since even she didn't get that excited about bacon. She would never know the mystery that was the coffee man.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Alright y'all. Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for, Rory and Jess take Stars Hollow! AH, finally! Our favorites are returning home, and hopefully can repair a few relationships. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and if you do please send in a review as they are greatly appreciated. Also, to all those who are lucky enough to be living in snowy areas, be safe this week. I don't know about you guys, but here in Indianapolis, the roads are getting very slick and icy. So, stay safe and drive carefully. Happy reading, and once again please review.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

The rest of the week, Rory was on edge. They were going back to Stars Hollow. Her, Lola, and Jess. They were going back to the town she grew up in, they were going to see people she hadn't seen in nearly a year, they were staying at her mother's inn, they were going to see her mother. She couldn't believe she had let herself do this. She couldn't believe Jess had let her do this. Well, in all seriousness, Jess would have pushed her to do this eventually, but he let her do what she did to make sure she made the decision. Now, she was frazzled.

She was running around in circles putting random things into her and Lola's bags. Jess had been packed the night before, and she jokingly asked him to pack for her. He had taken his own things down to the car, and was trying to move Lola's things there. It was difficult when Rory was coming up and taking things out and replacing them with other things. "She's got as many clothes as a Barbie Doll." He deadpanned, and pulled the bag away.

"But it's the town. They're gonna be watching everything we do, and they're gonna be checking everything we do for Lola. She has to look presentable." Another outfit was placed in the bag.

"So do you." Jess pointed out, as her hair fell from her ponytail, and her shirt began falling off her shoulder. Rory moved around to make herself look presentable, and the writer took that as his way to move the baby bag to the car. He waved to the woman glaring down at him from the living room window; she hit the inside of her fists together like on _FRIENDS_. He promptly hit his elbows together in response. He knew it was all good when she started giggling at him.

He returned to apartment to gladly see Rory ready to go. She held a smiling Lola, and she handed him her bag. They had waited to leave until Lola's nap time to ensure that she didn't cause too much trouble on the four-hour drive. Jess noticed Rory visibly shaking as the car pulled away from their apartment. He held her hand in his to comfort her. "It's going to be ok." He assured, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.

"I know, I know," She mumbled more to herself than to him. "I'm just nervous, and excited, but mostly nervous." She brought his hand up to her cheek. He understood. She was bound to be nervous after not talking to her mother for four months. She hadn't had her best friend in four months. He knew this would be good for her, and she knew it too.

It didn't stop her from tightening her grip on his hand when they passed the sign welcoming them to Connecticut. It didn't stop him from rubbing his hand on her cheek to calm her. Her cheeks colored, and her breathing quickened when the 'Welcome to Stars Hollow' sign appeared in front of the car. "Do you want to go to Luke's first?" His voice was soft and tentative. She nodded, knowing that at this time her mother had to be back at the inn.

Rory braced herself for all the questions when she got out of Jess's car. She avoided all eye contact as she unlatched Lola's car seat and entered the diner. She felt all their eyes on her when she hugged Luke, and she shrunk into Jess's arms when she saw a few people gazing through the window of the soda shoppe. She gladly took a coffee from Luke, and she beamed at Caesar when he placed a burger in front of her without even asking.

Jess sat beside her at the counter. He had Lola cuddling up in his arms. He too felt the townspeople's eyes on them, but he chose to ignore it like he did as a teenager. They had done well so far in averting all contact with the whack jobs that were the residents of Stars Hollow until Babette came in with Patty close behind her.

"Rory, Doll!" She exclaimed rather loudly. She pulled Rory in for a bone crushing hug, and then let Patty have her turn with the young mother. "You look great, doesn't she look great Patty?" Babette studied Rory's figure. Patty nodded in agreement. "Can't even tell ya had a baby!"

"Oh, Rory, Darling. You must let us see her." Patty butted in. Rory nodded, a hint of a smile playing at her lips. She turned to Jess, whom Patty and Babette had chosen to overlook, and showed Lola to the two women she had grown up around. "Oh, she is just precious." Patty placed her hand on her heart, and Babette spoke oddly to the baby.

"Look, Patty. She's blonde!" Babette yelled. All the excitement seemed to scare Lola, and she promptly let out a wail. "Oh no. Did I do somethin'?" The short woman grew worried. Rory shook her head quickly.

"No, no. It's just been a long ride from Philly. And all the excitement and new surroundings, she'll be fine." The mother smiled. Jess whisked the baby up the stairs away from all the craziness in the diner. She calmed some in his arms, and stopped crying by the time he had reached the top of the stairs.

"My, my. That Jess sure can handle a baby." Patty purred as she watched Jess's retreating back. Rory's face heated up, and she nodded embarrassedly. "You two are absolutely adorable together, when did you start dating again?" Her question caused the brunette to choke on her coffee.

"No," she coughed. "We're not, we're not together," Another cough. "We're just roommates, that's it. Just roommates." She couldn't stop coughing as she explained the situation to the town gossips. They shared a knowing look, and sadly waved their goodbyes. Rory was close to getting Jess when Kirk stopped her.

"Rory, good to have caught you." He stepped in front of the curtain leading to the apartment. "I saw you now have a baby, and it has been brought to my attention that babies need lots of diapers."

"That they do, Kirk. But you really must let me go, and we already have a brand of diapers that we like very much." She tried to move around the odd man.

"Just hear me out. These," He held up a poorly put together box. "Are Kirk's diapers. I've tried them on every baby in Stars Hollow, quite the hit with the mothers. Keeps the kid fresh as a daisy all night—" He was cut off by Jess walking back into the diner.

"Kirk, we've already got diapers." Jess's voice was gruff, and he pushed passed the town oddball. Rory was thankful for her roommate's save, and she gladly took her baby from his arms.

"But these are—" He tried to pitch the product to the ex-hoodlum who was having nothing of it. "I can see you're very busy people, and I'll be going now…" He quickly shuffled out of the diner to avoid the double glare from Luke and Jess.

"My hero." Rory ruffled his hair playfully. He shook his head, and led her to the door.

"We should go get checked in," He whispered so that no one else could hear him. She silently agreed, and they waved goodbye to Luke before heading to the Dragonfly. Rory began shaking in her seat again. She was officially going to see her mother for the first time since their fight. She missed her like crazy, but she was worried how she was going to react. Jess placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and gave her a tight squeeze.

She felt nauseous pulling up to her mom's place of work. Her stomach was fluttering like crazy, and her heart was beating rapidly. The man next to her wrapped her in one more hug, and he whispered how it was all going to be ok. Rory let him get Lola's car seat, and then she followed him in.

It looked the same as it did the last time she had been here. It smelled the same, and it still looked good even if the melting snow didn't. She thought her heart was going to climb out of her throat when she saw Michel and her mother bickering at the check in desk. They looked so normal, and she felt the opposite of normal. She was still shaking when Jess got the attention of her mother and her colleague.

"Room for Mariano." He had said it so calmly, like the woman beside him wasn't having a heart attack. Lorelai's head whipped around to stare at him, and then her gaze flew to Rory and the baby carrier in Jess's hands. The silence was thick, and Rory fought the urge to rush into her mother's arms and break down into sobs. Lorelai pushed down the same urge.

"Oh my gosh, Rory." Lorelai moved from around the desk. She came at her daughter with tear flowing down her face as they embraced. Rory let her tears fall, and her body shook with sobs. "I'm so sorry." The elder of the two sniffed. The younger nodded, refusing to leave her mother's arms.

"I'm sorry too." She cried. Lorelai shook her head and pulled back slightly.

"No, you don't have anything to be sorry for. It was all my fault. I pushed you away like my mother did, and I am so sorry." They stayed in each other's arms for a few more minutes before Lola began to whimper. Jess had pulled the baby carrier up closer to his face, but Lola wasn't having any of it. She wanted her mother.

Rory turned to look at Jess and the baby, and she took her into her arms when she saw the look on her roommate's face. "Mom, this is Lola." Lorelai smiled through her tears. This was her granddaughter.

"Rory, she's beautiful." She whispered. Without asking, she took the baby from her daughter's arms. "Hi, I'm your Grandma. Oh gosh, I'm getting old." She moaned. Rory giggled lightly and hugged Jess. "Uh, we can catch up later, you should probably check into your room." She faltered when she realized she wasn't saying rooms (as in plural) and when she saw that her daughter and Jess had booked a room with only one bed. "Um, room nine." She handed them the key.

Rory smiled once more at her mother before climbing the stairs with Jess carrying their bags. She looked so natural with her daughter, and Lorelai yearned for the months she had missed out on.

Rory had finished unpacking, and immediately got Lola ready to go back outside. "I have to go see Lane!" She yelled and took the baby down the stairs quickly. Jess let her go, and made his way down the stairs at a slower pace. Rory had left the door wide open, so he shut it before taking his book and sitting down in one of the chairs by the bookcases. He was surprised when Lorelai sat down beside him.

"Thank you," She said. Jess's curiosity was piqued, and he looked at the woman who had despised him for two years. "I never thought it would be you who convinced Rory to come back to me the first time, let alone twice. So, thank you, and I'm sorry that I misjudged you when you first came to town."

"You're welcome, and I forgive you." He stated nonchalantly before returning to his book.

 **XXX**

Rory had missed her best friend so much in the past few months. There had been a time before she went to Philly when they would fantasize about their babies together. She felt bad that Lane had to be on bed rest, but it would soon be over with how quickly her due date was approaching. "She's adorable," Lane gushed over her friend's daughter. "She looks just like you!"

"Except for the hair and the eyes, but yeah, I like to think she does." Neither mentioned the elephant in the room that had given the baby her coloring. "Jess thinks she'll grow up to be me." She softly giggled and rubbed her hand across Lola's golden locks.

"What's up with you guys?" The Asian woman inquired while making funny faces at the baby. Rory took a glance out the window before answering her friend's question.

"We just live together," She said. Lane looked at her pointedly and pretended to cough. "I'm serious! He's just my roommate."

"Who you have been sleeping in the same bed with, and helps you take care of your baby, and got your life back on track, and is your confidant, and who makes you blush whenever someone mentions his name, and who, oh yeah, you used to date!" She listed. "Have you slept with him?"

"Lane, not in front of the baby!" Rory placed her hands over her daughter's ears. "No, I have not." She glared. Lane held up her arms in surrender, and continued playing with the baby. When Lola began to cry, she looked up at the mother nervously. Said mother reached into the baby bag, and handed the Ernest Hemingway plushy to her best friend. "Jess bought it for her." Lane snorted at how naïve her best friend was.

"It's Ernest Hemingway," She stated. Rory nodded. "You hate Ernest Hemingway." She pointed out. Rory nodded again.

"It was the day I moved in with him, and we were at the store, and he took her to go look at books while I shopped for my stuff, and when I found them he was moving this in front of her face to keep her from crying. It was adorable. How could I not let him buy it for her?" She rambled in return to her friend's point. Lane rolled her eyes, but continued talking about all they had missed since Rory left for Philly.

An hour passed rather quickly, and Rory gathered her things. "I'm coming by every day this week." She told her best friend. Lane hugged her, and she left. Lola squalled a bit when she felt the cold March air, but she calmed down when Jess walked up to them. He didn't even ask before taking the baby from her carrier, and he smiled at Rory's fake scowl.

He was going in for a hug when the inevitable happened. "Rory?" The Jolly Green Giant came walking up behind them. Dean's eyes narrowed when he spotted Jess holding Lola, and he looked between his ex-mistress and the reformed hoodlum. He couldn't see the baby's blonde hair underneath her cap, but he could see the unmistakable brown eyes she had inherited from Logan. Though to Dean, they looked identical to Jess's.

"Dean, hi." Rory shuffled awkwardly. She no longer felt comfortable around her first boyfriend. For a time, she had thought he was the safe one, he was the one who would always take care of her, he was the one that would help her in her times of need. Looking up at Jess, she wondered how she could have ever felt sound in her relationship with this green eyed monster. Especially now, the way his nostrils flared and his eyes turned cold.

His eyes pleaded for an explanation, but Rory couldn't say anything. She felt trapped, like she was seventeen again at the bid-a-basket festival, but this time there was a baby in Jess's arms. She knew now that she wanted to be around Jess rather than Dean. She caught Jess's eye, silently begging him to not say anything. His smirk gave away every thought he had, and Rory wasn't sure if he was going to say something stupid or heroic.

Lola whimpered from the leather clad man's arms, and he wiggled the Ernest Hemingway plushy in front of her face. She calmed down, and Jess placed a loving kiss on her cap covered head. He continued bouncing her around, and Dean shot daggers at the shorter man. Rory was still unable to speak. Her mouth was firmly clamped shut, and her blue eyes darted between the two men. Jess shot Rory a look. He wanted to break the silence, tell a bit of a lie to get Dean off their backs.

"Um, so… This is my," Rory was stopped by Jess coughing horribly. She didn't correct what he wanted her to lie about. "My daughter, Lorelai 'Lola'—" She was cut off before reaching the Gilmore.

"Mariano." Jess piped up. The woman beside him nearly placed her hand to her forehead, but stopped when she knew it would look suspicious. Dean obviously hadn't been in town the past couple months to hear the gossip about Rory living at Jess's with Logan's baby. It was all a mess, and now her roommate might've made the gossip train even juicier. Dean's face contorted to a mix of rage and hurt.

"I didn't know you two had…" The tallest of the group trailed. Jess took that as an opportunity to weave a few more tales.

"Yeah, well. About oh, a year ago?" He looked at Rory for fake confirmation. She was in too deep to stop him, and she wasn't sure what Dean would do if she corrected her roommate now. She went along with the lie for Lola's sake; Rory didn't want her ex-boyfriend lunging at her other ex-boyfriend who was holding her baby. "Yeah, and before we knew it, Lola came around. We're living in Philly, great schools for Lola there, and she'll grow up running around my publishing house. Did you know that I _did_ do something with my life? 'Cause I did. What are you doing, Dean-o?" The blue eyed woman decided now was the time to step in.

"Babe," Her tone was sickeningly sweet. Just enough that Jess knew he was in trouble, but not too much that Dean knew she was faking. "We were just about to take Lola down to the bridge, right? And then we have to meet Mom and Sookie for dinner, the wedding isn't going to plan itself." The last part slipped out before she could stop herself. It was satisfying to see Dean's glower get darker, and Jess's smirk widen to almost a smile.

Jess wrapped an arm around Rory's shoulder after handing her the baby, and he brushed past Dean. The woman in his arms, snorted lightly as they made their way closer to the bridge. The brown eyed man had taken the carrier from her hands a few moments ago, and he waited until they were completely out of ear shot to start laughing. His laughter was contagious, and soon all three of them were laughing (even though Lola only giggled when she heard other people doing it as well). " _The wedding_?" He questioned, gripping at his side. "That was perfect." Rory nodded; she was a bit proud of herself for coming up with it so easily.

"Don't think because I played along that you're off the hook from telling him that we were together and that Lola is yours." The words stung a bit, but they were supposed to be good natured. It didn't matter how much he wanted Lola to be his, she wasn't. Rory quickly covered her face with her hand that wasn't holding the baby. "Oh no, I think I saw East Side Tilly stopping at Bootsy's newsstand when we came up with that whole charade!" That only made Jess laugh harder.

She shoved him lightly, and he pretended to fall towards the water. "You're right, it is cathartic." She told him, as they stepped away from the bridge. They were headed back to the warmth of the Dragonfly, and hopefully they would reach it before the rumors. Rory swore she could have killed Jess for what he said back there, but she too had spun them a few webs.

As they reached closer, she thought she saw Patty rushing out of the inn and headed for town. She should have known better. No one was faster than the rumor train around Stars Hollow. They weren't even inside when Lorelai threw the door open, a shocked look gracing her features. "You're getting married?!" She exclaimed at the two. Jess smiled guiltily at Rory, who stepped closer to her mom to stop her rampage. "And Lola is really Jess's? You said she was Logan's!" Rory shook her head, and led her mother and roommate inside the inn.

Lorelai took a step towards Jess, her finger raised near his nose. "I take back my apology, and my thank you!" She exclaimed. It threw her daughter back, she didn't know that her mother had apologized to the writer, and she never in a million years pictured her thanking him either.

"No, Mom, we're not getting married." Rory tried to talk her mother off the ledge she was on. Jess shook his head as well, further proving the young mother's point.

"It was just a joke," He interjected. Both Gilmore women glared at him, and for once in his life he actually felt fear. "I just said some things to mess with Farmer John's head, but Rory was the one who said we were getting married!" Michel walked through the sitting room with a scowl on his face.

"Not another wedding!" He cried as he passed them by. Rory did forgo her glare to giggle a bit, but quickly returned when Jess tried to explain themselves.

"Look, Mom," She jumped in before he could say anything else. "We were just trying to get Dean to go away, we didn't know that East Side Tilly was going to be stopping at Bootsy's newsstand the moment we started talking to him. It's just a rumor."

"That Jess started!" Lorelai's finger was out again as she pointed menacingly at the man. He held his arms up in surrender, refusing to say anything more to keep from getting killed. "You turned my poor baby girl into a theoretical heifer!" She fake cried into one of the pillows strategically placed on the couch. At that point, they all knew it was safe to breathe again.

Then the door to the inn swung open forcefully. In walked Liz Danes in all her crazy glory with TJ following closely behind her. She rushed into the library and pulled Jess in for a hug that he refused to reciprocate. Rory held her hand over her smirk as she saw the look on the man's face. However, her smirk turned to a frown when Liz shouted, "My baby boy is getting married and has a baby of his own!" Both of their eyes widened, and their heads shook furiously.

"Liz," Jess tried, but couldn't get a word in as his mother went around to talk to Lorelai about planning the wedding. Rory came up to him, a disbelieving look on her face.

"You didn't tell your mom we were coming to town?" She asked, her hands gesturing wildly.

"You didn't tell yours!" He shot back, and he grabbed at Lola's car seat before his mother could smother what she thought was her grandchild.

"Yeah, but my mom wasn't going to be so gullible as to listen to the rumors." She hissed, pushing his arm slightly.

"Oh really? Cause about five minutes ago, your mother almost murdered me!" His voice rose a bit, and the attention was brought back to the squabbling roommates. Liz bounced over, wrapping her arms around Jess again. His expression darkened, and Rory bit back a few giggles. Her giggles did stop when Liz drew her in for a hug as well.

"Rory, how did you ever get him to settle down?" Liz asked. She didn't wait for an answer before continuing to ramble. "You know I always knew he would do the right thing. I'm just so happy for you two!" She didn't let either of them get a word in edgewise to explain the rumors she had heard around town.

"Liz!" Jess finally shouted over his mother's excitement. She stopped abruptly; her smile gone and replaced with a look of shock. "We're not together, we did not have a baby, and we're not getting married either. It was just a hoax to get Forrester off our backs. We're just living together." He exasperated. Liz's bright eyes clouded with a hint of sadness that no one mentioned.

"So, no daughter-in-law?" She looked to Rory.

"No daughter-in-law." She shook her head.

"No grandbaby?" Liz looked at Jess pleadingly.

"No grandkids." He fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Oh, ok," Her face fell considerably, but she quickly replaced it with a new façade. She looked to TJ who smiled brightly. "Well, did you want to see your sister?" Her mood changed quickly. Jess nodded his head; he wasn't sure when the next time he would see his sister would be. Also, he had gotten quite good at holding babies as of late. His mother handed over a baby in a weird coat onesie. "Her name's Doula." She proudly stated to Rory. Jess shot Rory a look of disbelief, and she just held up Lola cutely.

Then Liz was rambling about how close the two babies' names sounded, and how they were going to be life-long best friends. After twelve minutes and many eye rolls from Jess, the younger adults retreated to their room. "I thought your eyes were going to get stuck in the back of your head!" Rory giggled.

"I wish, but then Liz would use that as an excuse to watch over me 24/7 since I would be blind." He smiled at her, but she could tell it was all a façade. Rory put Lola into her car seat, and climbed onto the bed beside Jess.

"You ok?" She asked, burrowing into his side. He nodded wordlessly. "Cause it's ok to be upset that your mom's doing better with Doula. I was upset when my dad was there for Gigi more than for me." She admitted, and he placed an arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer to him. He kissed her hair, and she smiled contentedly.

"I'm fine. I just hope she doesn't say she'll do better and still fail." He had a point. Rory placed her hand on his cheek lovingly, and they both fought the urge to lean in. Their faces were dangerously close.

"I promised my mom we'd catch up." She whispered, and he could feel her breath on his lips. He nodded and picked up Lola's carrier. "Uh, thanks." She made her way to the door.

"Anytime." He watched her leave, and he mentally scolded himself for not kissing her when he had the chance. Lola gurgled beside him, and Jess quickly fixated on her. She smiled at him, her brown eyes shining. He placed a kiss on her soft head, and blew lightly on her cheeks to make her giggle.

The way she smiled at him made him feel like she was his. It was a nice thought, but it was just pretend. He was really hating this whole pretend thing between him and Rory.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Oh my word! Merry Christmas everyone! This chapter worked out perfectly to literally come out on Christmas Eve! I knew that this would be a great Christmas present to y'all, and I'm excited that you are reading this today! Ok, too many exclamation points. Though, I just love love love this chapter (again I could be biased, but I have a feeling you all will too), so yeah. Well, Merry Christmas all! Have a great holiday season with your families, and eat lots of food, and I hope you get lots of good presents. I hope you'll see this as a Christmas present too. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, happy reading, and please review. I really want to hear what you have to say about this chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Rory had been sad to leave Stars Hollow, but she knew that her new life was in Philly with Jess. They had had a great week in Connecticut and leaving was hard, but she did it. Jess kept saying they could stay longer, or that he wouldn't be upset or offended if she didn't want to go back to Philadelphia. She had hugged him tightly, and explained how their life was in Philly. She wouldn't have it any other way. He had accepted it and pretended he didn't notice her crying the night before they left.

It could no longer be ignored, though, when she was crying as soon as they had passed the city limits. Her face was pressed against the window so that Jess wouldn't see, but he couldn't miss the shaking of her shoulders and her voice's strained noise. He had pulled over at a gas station barely five minutes out of town. Rory looked around disoriented while Jess stared at her lovingly. His eyes were full of pain from seeing her like this and the thought that maybe she didn't want to go back with him. She leaned forward, yearning for his touch and for him to tell her it would all be ok.

"You don't have to come with me." He numbly told her. Her blue eyes widened, and her sobs escalated. She reached for his hand, and brought it close to her cheek. She really wanted to just feel him near her. He had been her life line these past months; he was the only thing besides Lola keeping her sane. Rory wasn't sure what she would do without Jess.

"No, our lives are in Ph-Philly." Her words were close to unintelligible, but he understood. His eyes searched her face, trying to find a crack that would ensure that statement was a lie. He had to know if she was just saying that to make him feel better, or if it was the truth. His hand never left her cheek, but he wanted to see the affects it would have if he did. Would that be the moment she decided to go back to Stars Hollow?

"Rory, _my_ life is in Philadelphia. You don't have to go there if you don't want to." He said with sadness evident in his tone. She must really not want to be around him if she was acting this way when they left her precious home town. He didn't care if it meant she was no longer in his life. He just wanted her happy, and if Stars Hollow made her happy, so be it. Her cries quieted slightly, and she stared deeply into his dark eyes.

"I can't go back there, Jess. Not to live. My life is with you in Philadelphia. You're my lifeline, my constant. Whenever I was struggling, you were there to help me pick up the pieces. I _need_ you, and Lola needs you. I wouldn't trade these past few months for the world. I _want_ to be with you." Her speech was somewhat garbled from the tears, but she was sincere. He knew that much. It made his heart soar thinking about how she wanted to be with him, and he resisted the urge to lean in further and taste her lips with his.

He nodded, and she turned back to the window. They pulled out of the gas station, and neither mentioned anything Rory had said. She wasn't going to tell him, but she was a bit annoyed that he thought she didn't want to be with him. She could have left anytime within the last three months of living with him, but she didn't. Wasn't that enough proof? She hoped so.

The rest of the ride home was silent and awkward. Neither spoke in fear of offending each other. When the car pulled to a stop in front of their apartment building, Jess wrapped his arms around Rory tightly. She was confused because he was initiating it, but she allowed herself to melt in his arms. His hand reached up to cup her cheek (something she was really enjoying as of late), and she finally smiled at him. "I'm sorry." He whispered, and she nodded. He wanted to say he loved her, but decided against it.

Her eyes flicked over his loving gaze, not that she would ever admit it was loving. She really did like living with him. They had fallen into this circle of domesticity, and she wondered if this was how it could have been if she had run away with him her freshman year. It didn't matter how much she missed her childhood home, Jess was her home now. It wasn't until now that Rory realized how close their faces were. She could feel his breath intermingling with hers, and she noticed the way his pupils dilated and darted between her eyes and mouth. She bit her lower lip innocently, silently hoping he would lean in a bit further. He glanced back up into her blue orbs, searching for the approval. She was so close to nodding, to ensuring he could lean in, but they were stopped short when Lola let out a strangled cry.

The moment had passed, and the spark in his eyes dimmed when he heard the infant. Rory sucked in a shaky breath and sent one last look his way before tending to her daughter. She pretended she didn't hear his resigned sigh as she shut the passenger door. She tried not to stare at him when he stayed in the driver's seat. She saw his hand come up and rub at his face, and she heard him mutter unintelligibly. She secretly hoped he was mumbling about her. In her arms, Lola wiggled annoyedly. Rory headed up to the apartment without even getting one of her bags to feed the baby.

She caught Jess's eye after she stepped from her room with a now content Lola. She easily went to the man, and Rory went to get a head start on dinner. As she worked on the potato soup, she watched Jess and Lola out of the corner of her eyes. She knew that the thing she had liked best about living with him recently was because of how good he was with Lola. She had never pegged him as a kid kind of person (she hadn't pegged herself as that either), but he was an old softy at heart (something he had inherited from Luke).

During their dinner, all was quiet. Neither knew what to say after the event in the car, and they didn't want to risk it either. Rory blushed lightly when she felt Jess's penetrating gaze, and Jess immediately turned his head when he saw her head shift slightly to catch his stare. She never did, and they played their game for the rest of dinner until it was time for Lola to go to sleep. He was automatically given kitchen duty while she readied the baby for bed. When she said, "The baby's down." Rory felt an odd warmth course through her body.

Jess's curt nod didn't go unnoticed by his roommate. She slumped into one of the chairs, huffing as her body plopped on the wood. She studied him, wondering what could possibly be going through that brilliant mind of his. She noticed the way his arms scrubbed tirelessly on one of the pots she had used to make their dinner, and he acted like he didn't feel her eyes watching his every move. Eventually, it became too much for him, this little game they had been playing, and he threw the dishes down with a loud clank. Rory jumped, grabbing at the baby monitor in fear that Lola had woken from the noise. Jess felt guilty, but he couldn't take it anymore.

"This is getting out of hand," He muttered as he picked up the pot he had just dropped. He hadn't noticed Rory coming up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He craned his neck a touch to look at her face, but he quickly turned back when he caught a glance of her rosy red cheeks. Her hands trailed down his arms, and he tried—oh, how he tried—incredibly hard to keep his mind focusing on the pots in his hands. They had been playing cat and mouse since at least the previous week, maybe even longer, and it was finally reaching his head.

Beside him, Rory wondered what had overcome her to do this. She knew she was egging him on, begging for him to acknowledge her, and she hadn't a clue as to why. Well, she knew why, but she was in such denial she refused to admit it. She was standing here, practically shouting at him, and he kept his focus on the dirty dishes. It made her feel inadequate. She blew a strand of hair away from her forehead, ready to turn from him.

"You're not inadequate," He said, his back still turned to her. She hadn't realized she had said that out loud. Her heart thudded loudly in her chest when he spun around, meeting her gaze. "You could never be inadequate. You're the perfect mother, the perfect daughter, you're just perfect." He now held her face in his hands, and she traced every one of his features with her eyes. His thumb grazed her cheek, and she felt herself blush. Their breathing was erratic, and she felt a little light headed from the way he stared at her. He continued to study her, and she was growing tired of waiting for him to make the next move.

So, she kissed him.

It felt more like she had tripped forward, and his lips had caught hers in an attempt to keep her from falling face first onto the floor. Their lips meshed together perfectly, like this wasn't the first time in over a year that they were kissing. She hummed, enjoying the feeling. It was growing heated. Her hands running through his hair, his hands roaming down her body, their legs moving closer, him pressing her against the wall. Although, like all good things it had to come to an end. Theirs happened to be ended by an adorable, blonde baby needing her diaper changed.

They parted, panting loudly when Lola started crying like an alarm clock. Considering Rory was leaning against the wall, Jess moved to the extra room where the baby slept. He left the woman standing there in the kitchen, her lips swollen, her heart racing, and her eyelids shut in sheer bliss. He stepped into the guestroom (they weren't exactly sure of what to call it, since Rory had practically moved into his room, but they weren't sure if it could officially be labeled as Lola's), and he beamed at the crying girl. Her legs and arms waving around, and her blonde curls sweaty from sleep. She instantly quieted in Jess's arms, but she didn't fall back asleep until her diaper was changed.

Rory was still leaning against the wall, eyes still closed, when he returned from changing Lola's diaper. Her breath hitched when he placed another kiss (this one more tender than the previous) on her slightly parted lips. She quickly reciprocated, and her arms found his neck. He moved them towards the couch, but they almost fell over when their legs tangled together. They toppled sloppily onto the cushions when his legs felt the edge. Their kiss was cut short when she giggled into his lips. He smiled when her head made its way to his chest. She sighed dreamily as she felt his fast heartbeat. His arms were expertly placed on her hips, and she reached for the remote to turn on some show or other.

He played with the ends of her hair, and her eyelids drooped a bit as she honed in on his now steady heartbeat. "Do you want to have dinner tomorrow night?" He whispered when she shifted to a more comfortable position.

"We have dinner every night." She smirked, and he groaned. She knew what he meant, but she was making him work for it. She listened to the random TV show that had come up, waiting for his reply.

"I meant just the two of us. Without Lola." He explained, continuing to play with her hair.

"Like a date?" She already knew the answer, but thought that she could try and make him squirm. He didn't back down.

"Like a date." He confirmed, taking in a long deep breath of air. He felt her nod against his chest.

"Ok." She murmured, the events of the day finally catching up with her. Jess smirked, and wrapped his arms more securely around her waist. He felt her breathing even out, and he knew she had fallen asleep. He wanted to get up move them to their bed (he guessed now after sharing it for a week, and going on vacation and sharing one, it could officially be called theirs. Not to mention they were technically dating now), but he didn't because this moment was too perfect to risk messing up. Instead, he shifted a bit to ensure the crick in his neck wouldn't be too horrible the following morning.

 **XXX**

Rory kept staring at the clock in anticipation for Jess to get home. She had been ready since about four that afternoon, and she was just waiting for him to pop through the door with Cam so that they could go on their date. Their first date in four years. She was excited, yet nervous. Obviously last night had been amazing, and she had been waiting for that moment, but this date made it real. She wasn't even sure what they would do, but she didn't care. She just really liked being with Jess.

Lola happily squealed when the writer stepped through the door, Cam trailing closely behind. The baby recognized his voice, and her little fingers wiggled around in the air. Jess stooped down to pick her up, and Rory smiled brightly watching them interact. He truly loved her daughter, and that made this whole relationship thing they were starting even better. She had been right knowing that she didn't need Logan; she had Jess, and he was a better father figure than Logan could have ever been.

Cam swooped in when she saw Rory's longing gaze. "Aunty Cam time!" She took the baby from Jess's hands. His demeanor darkened, but he quickly regained composure when he looked at Rory. She was wearing a red dress he had never seen before (meaning she must have taken it from Stars Hollow), and it perfectly matched the color of her lipstick. The lipstick that he couldn't stop thinking about smearing. Her blue eyes were bright with anticipation, and he easily slid his arm around her waist.

"You look amazing," He murmured into her ear, causing her to blush the same color as her dress. He smirked, glad that he still had that effect on her. Rory turned to Cam, and rattled off a whole bunch of details she needed to know for the baby. She was talking the darker skinned woman's ear off when Jess intervened. "Come on." He tugged at her hips, encouraging her to leave the entryway to their apartment.

Her eyes didn't leave the baby in Cam's arms. She walked out of the door backwards just to make sure she had one last glance at her darling daughter. Jess had jokingly reprimanded her, but he quieted when she laid her head on his shoulder. "She'll be fine," He assured her before kissing her perfectly red lips. She giggled lightly when they earned looks from the others in the elevator. "God, you look gorgeous." He complimented when they reached the sidewalk. She smiled up at him, placing a lipstick stain on his clean-shaven face.

They walked hand in hand for a while, and Rory wondered where on earth he was taking her. Her face lit up when they stopped in front of a hotdog cart, and he ordered them each a hotdog with everything on it. They continued walking around town, holding hands, and stealing bites of the other's dinner. When the hotdogs were done, he led her to an ice cream shop that only sold ice cream in cones. She smiled, basking in the memories that he had decided to relive during their date. He then took her into a little independent bookshop. She felt tears pricking her eyes when he read an excerpt from _Pride and Prejudice_. It was when Darcy had proposed to Lizzy (the first time), and it brought joy to her heart knowing that he did like, possibly love, her after all this time.

"' _In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you_.'" He read while they sat comfortably in an overstuffed chair. Rory was sitting in Jess's lap, with her legs hanging over the side of the chair. He pressed a kiss to her temple, and she smiled despite her blurry vision. She didn't care that he continued to read to where Lizzy turned Darcy down, for she was glad to have just heard him utter those words to her. The rest of their evening was spent in that little bookshop, reading romantic excerpts from a myriad of classic novels.

They walked home, and Rory had a tiny bit more spring in her step. Jess's arm was giving her the extra warmth she needed on the nippy March night. They continued to joke, and kiss, and talk about their plans for the next day. She had mentioned officially signing up for an online college, and what groceries she would need for the next evening's meal. He talked about the book he was editing, and offhandedly commented on his third book. She squealed and leaned further into his touch.

They reached their door to the apartment, and Jess pulled her in for one last kiss. All was silent from behind the door, so they stayed in the hallway, a true melding of the minds as they made out. They broke away from each other's mouths when they heard a clang and Cam swearing. Then there was a slight cry from Lola, and they braved what was behind their apartment door. It actually wasn't that bad. Just a plate that had fallen while Cam was making herself a late night snack. Though it had woken Lola up, but she would be fine once she was in her mother's arms.

Rory returned to the living room with Lola still crying in her arms. "I think she wants you." She handed Jess the infant. He happily held the baby close to his chest while Rory and Cam walked into the kitchen to talk about the date. A pot of coffee was half way consumed before Cam nearly exploded.

"You have to tell me!" She exclaimed because Rory kept avoiding the subject to add an air of mystery. However, she finally relented from the look that her friend shot her way. She placed the coffee mug down slowly, gaining a glare from the slightly older woman.

Rory continued to giggle at her friend's misfortune for a few more seconds before finally fessing up the details. "We got hotdogs from a hotdog cart, and we got ice cream in cones, and we went to this little bookshop and read a bunch of excerpts from classic novels. And he read Darcy's first proposal to Elizabeth, you know the one that she turns down. It was perfect." She gushed over her coffee cup. Cam still was a bit confused. She did think the reading books thing was adorable, but she didn't understand why they had such a mundane meal.

"Why hotdogs?" She voiced her curiosities. Rory's cheeks tinged pink, and she gulped before retelling the events of the time she traveled to New York after Jess had gotten kicked out of Luke's the first time. "So, you skipped school to visit him before you even dated? That's adorable! Ok, but I don't understand the significance of cones."

"Before Jess got kicked out of Stars Hollow the first time, I helped tutor him because he didn't go to school. He was distracted the whole night, and promised that if we got ice cream in cones he would finally study. So, we got ice cream in cones, and we just kept driving around, doing nothing. Then he crashed my car because some fuzzy thing ran into the middle of the road, and we swerved. He made sure I was ok, and then I didn't see him again until New York." She explained, a bit breathlessly. Cam nodded, understanding the sentimentality of the date that her friends had experienced. She then excused herself because it was getting late, and she waggled her eyebrows suggestively when she passed by Jess in the living room.

He walked into the kitchen once he knew it was safe without Cam there. He quickly pecked Rory's lips (he really enjoyed that as a kid, but he enjoyed it so much more now), and handed her the sleeping baby in his arms. The mother cuddled with her daughter, enjoying the warmth she brought. She smiled at Jess's back as he moved around the kitchen. His eyes shined, and she knew the reason behind it. She made her way to his side, and leaned on him. His arm found its way around her body, and she pressed her nose into his shoulder. "Tired," She murmured against him. He nodded, and led her towards their (it was officially titled as theirs and not just his) room.

Lola's crib was placed in his room, and they sprawled out on the queen-sized bed (bigger than the twin that Rory had been sleeping in). She laid her head on his chest, and he squeezed her waist tightly. She hummed in approval, and he placed loving kisses on the top of her head. They ended up spooning, and she fell asleep contently nestled in his arms. He was still awake, though. His head placed on her shoulder, his nose nuzzling her sweet smelling hair. He basked in the reality that they were once again a couple, living together in Philly, her daughter the best thing to have brought them together.

"I love you," Jess whispered before falling asleep. He knew she couldn't hear him, but he didn't care. It was out in the open, and this time he wasn't running away. What he didn't know, was that Rory had woken up as the words escaped his lips. She had heard murmuring, and her body had been tingly from the way he held her. She had heard him, and she grinned widely into the dark.

"I love you, too." Her words hung in the silence, and she turned around to press a kiss to his cheek. She fell back asleep to his snores.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Ok, here it is! Chapter 11. I hope you guys like, it there's definitely some cute moments between our favorites. Frankly, I think it turned out well (obviously, my opinion). I've been working hard to keep the chapters prewritten, but sadly I've had some serious writer's block, and it sucks cause I have these ideas, but I don't know the best way to transcribe them, or how to transition into them. Blech! Well, it'll get done eventually. I hope you all had a happy holiday weekend or week, and have a happy new year. Let's hope this one is better, and you are all happy! Happy reading and please review! Catch ya next year!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

They had been together for a week. Their relationship officially rekindled. Rory called her mom the day after their first date, and Lorelai had begged her to be careful. Of course, she would be, but her mother still worried. She had gotten emails from townspeople who must have found out when her mother told Luke, or overheard Jess talking to his uncle on their weekly calls. She had laughed loudly at an email from Miss Patty, and her giggles grew when Jess looked at the email panicked. Otherwise, nothing new had happened in their lives.

Until their second week of dating. Rory had gotten a call from her grandmother. It was short and curt, but she was making an effort. That was all that mattered to the blue eyed woman. She had responded with a letter, deciding that all of the events that had transpired recently could only be described with pen and paper. It had been nearly five pages, and Jess joked that she was writing the next great American novel, and he would be out of a job. She threw her pen at him. He gave her a trout (Luke's orders).

What was the most surprising though, was her grandmother's reply. Emily had eagerly written back a letter near as lengthy as the one her granddaughter had sent her. It had confused Rory that her grandmother would be so precocious on the phone, yet pour out her every life's detail in a letter. She had been grateful that the elder Gilmores wanted to be in touch with her, but her heart stopped as she read the final line before the salutation.

" _By the way, Logan is back in town. I thought the two of you should catch up soon. Talk about the baby. I gave him your address if you don't mind."_ And then the 'Love always, Grandma.' It had thrown Rory for a loop to say the least. She re-read that sentence a thousand times before Jess had returned home that evening. He was surprised to not have heard the clinking of pots and pans, and stopped short when he saw his girlfriend gaping at a letter. He came up behind her, rubbing the tension out of her shoulders. Her head spun around, and he read the contents of the letter.

"Why would she do this?" Rory wondered aloud when Jess took a small step backwards. His eyebrows were knit tightly, and Rory knew she had had the same expression moments before. "I didn't ask her to do this. I swear. I didn't even know Logan was ever coming back to the US." She explained herself when he reached for the letter to double check he read it correctly. He nodded his head; he had no reason to doubt her. They were together now, and she had wanted nothing to do with Logan (especially after her horrible nightmare a month ago).

Rory ran a hand through her hair while shaking her head. He couldn't come back now. He couldn't pop into her life after he had blatantly said he didn't want anything to do with her. He had obviously put it in a nicer way, but he had still said that in so many words. It was against the Huntzberger code, or whatever, to have illegitimate children. So, he had been forced to propose, and then said that he couldn't be with her if they weren't married. She had been four, nearly five, months along at that point. He had popped the question when she told him that they were having a girl; her day had started out wonderfully, but ended horribly when he walked out of her life forever.

Or so she thought.

It wasn't fair to her, or Lola, heck it wasn't fair to Jess, that he would so easily try and get back into their lives. She was living life the way she wanted to. She was happy. And here he was coming into ruin it again. Whenever things were going good with them, he changed it around for the worst. Rory's eyes flicked to a still quiet Jess. He was reading the letter again, and she noticed the way his jaw jutted in annoyance. He didn't like the thought of Logan barging into their good life either. This was the exact reason he had resented all rich people growing up. Rory slowly walked over and placed her arms around his waist. He turned, so he could hug her properly.

"I got this letter today, and it was dated a few days ago." She stated the obvious, but he didn't mind. They were just waiting for the bomb to go off. Neither knew what day he would possibly arrive, but Rory knew that because he had been given the opportunity, he would be there within at least a day. It worried her. What would he say? What would he do? Would it end up like her dream had? She shuddered thinking about that horrible nightmare. They would have to be on their guards, and neither one liked the thought.

"I think that if I try hard enough, I could get him to relinquish his rights." She thought out loud. Jess looked at her oddly. "I mean he didn't want anything to do with her anyways. Why would he still want his parental rights? But if I try, and fail, he'll just come after us in court." Her mind was racing, thinking of all the ugly possibilities that would come with Logan's impending arrival.

"Rory, what are you saying?" Jess had a pretty good idea, but he needed her confirmation. Her neck cracked when she turned to look at him. Her dazzling blue eyes filled with thoughts and ideas. He studied her actions, her movements, her words. She had somehow created a master plan within seconds.

"You should adopt Lola." She rushed. Before he could say anything, she spun around to dig through the freezer for a frozen pizza. Jess was dumbfounded. She had just said the most monumental thing, and then she brushed it off to begin their dinner. He was confused, yet endeared that she would ask of him to do such a thing.

"But, Ror," He gained her attention. She looked up from the frozen pizza she had chosen, confused why he would question her nearly full proof plan. "Wh-what if we break up? Wouldn't that be weird?" He didn't want to think that way at all, but with such a step as this all areas had to be taken into consideration. Her mind stopped all functioning when he uttered those words. Her heart sunk a bit. Did he really not think they'd make it this time around?

"Do you really have that little faith in us?" Her words were scornful. He blinked rapidly, shaking his head. He was surprised at how well she believed they would do. He knew she wasn't naïve, but she seemed so innocent believing in their relationship.

"No, of course not. But we've only been back together for two weeks, and we don't have the best of track records." He thought back to their high school days. She frowned, slowly sitting down on one of the kitchen chairs. Then she sprung back up again, ready to defend what they had.

"I love you, Jess. We aren't the people we were back then. We know better now. It's only been two weeks, but in reality, we've waited nearly five years for our relationship to be where it's at. Out of all the people who could make it, I believe that we are the few." She ranted, a hint of anger in her tone. He smiled when she told him she loved him. That was enough to get him on board with the whole plan. Although, instead of voicing his changed opinion, he closed the gap between them and kissed her senseless.

"First fight as a couple, and first make up make out." He chuckled when they pulled apart. She blushed, thinking about the other things that couples did when they made up. She reached behind his head to pull him in for another kiss. He had been right. This part always worked.

 **XXX**

They had been prepared for Logan's arrival, but it still surprised them. It was like a jack-in-the-box. Always anticipating, but still jumping when the clown popped out. And Rory had done just that. Jump.

They had gone to a late lunch, and Jess had gotten the rest of the afternoon off the day that Logan came around. It had been two days since their conversation on the rich play boy, and Rory had jumped like she was at a haunted house when he knocked on their door minutes after they had entered. She shot a look towards Jess, and he took Lola into their room until it was 100% safe. She had somehow known it would be him; her Logan radar had been on the fritz all morning, and that was why Jess took her to the office and then lunch.

"Hey, Ace." The blond's voice sounded smooth as silk. He must not have known that she was living with Jess currently, or if he did, he did a spectacular job of hiding it. He swaggered into the apartment, looking around nonchalantly. Rory knew he was trying to catch a glimpse of the baby. She felt herself clam up, and she didn't know what to say to the audacious man. She really wanted Jess to be by her side, but she knew it wouldn't end well if he was.

"Nice pad you got here. How do you afford it?" He asked somewhat condescendingly. He knew she had dropped out of Yale (his parents were still in contact with her grandparents), and he knew that she obviously couldn't have a well enough paying job to afford this apartment. She drew a shaky breath, unsure if she should mention Jess, or that she just had a roommate.

"I, uh, just an old friend who I'm rooming with." She decided. It was the truth, Jess was an old friend, she just didn't specify which old friend. He gave her a pointed look, and she felt herself close up further under his scrutinized gaze. "Cam. She, uh, works at a publishing company here in town. We went to Chilton together." She was lying straight through her teeth, at least about the old and Chilton part. He seemed to buy it for the most part.

"Oh really?" He mused. "Who are her parents? I might know them." She wasn't sure if her as actually curious, or if he could see through her lie. Rory shook her head a bit.

"No, no. She was a scholarship kid. Like me." She tried to sound matter of fact, but it sounded less and less true with every lie she added. She may have had a chance, but now he really did know she wasn't telling the truth. He took a seat on the couch, but she didn't join him.

"Come on, Ace. We both know Chilton doesn't give scholarships. You weren't one. Your grandparents paid for you." He could see through her façade. She knew he wasn't dumb enough to believe her, but she didn't want to tell him the truth about her and Jess. She feared (mainly because of her dream) what he would do. She couldn't have Lola taken away from her. She was her whole world.

"I do have a friend named Cam, and she does work at a publishing company in town. She just didn't go to Chilton with me." She said, trying to soften the blow. At least that truth was out. Now for the rest. She waited for him to say something. Rory didn't want to broach the subject of their daughter. If he wanted to come and talk about the baby, she would, but she wasn't going to do anything unless he showed interest. She didn't want him to have been sent here on a mission from his parents and her grandparents.

"Where is she, Ace?" She wasn't sure if he was talking about Cam or Lola.

"Well, Cam's still at work. She doesn't get off until about six. Five if she's lucky." She tried to avoid the elephant in the room. Maybe if she tried hard enough, he'd leave. That would be best for all of them. However, the look on his face proved he didn't mean Cam. "Oh, you meant Lola, didn't you?" Here's where it all crashed down. Here's where the truth came out. He nodded, waiting for her answer.

Then, Rory sidestepped the couch, and made her way into the bedroom she had been sharing with Jess as of late. She shut the door as forcefully, yet quietly as possible. She sat beside her boyfriend on the bed, and he noticed the pain in her eyes, and he handed over Lola. Rory smiled, but pushed the baby back into his arms. He stared at her quizzically, and she dragged him to the living room. Logan was still sitting on the couch when they returned. He grimaced when Jess walked out holding the baby.

"Hello, Jack." The blond sneered. Rory glared at him because he knew his name, but refused to say it. Jess only smirked and placed a sickeningly sweet kiss on Rory's pursed lips. She smiled into the kiss, not caring that it was just to make the other man jealous. Logan scoffed beside them. They pulled apart, Rory's face a bit flushed, and Jess's triumphant grin plastered where her lips had just been.

"Dick," He smiled cheekily, and moved towards the kitchen. Lola still in his arms. Rory rolled her eyes at Logan, but shot Jess a small smile. He nodded, still walking, waiting to be stopped by Logan. The blond grabbed Rory's arm so they could move to a more private location. She nodded her head to the hallway, and hoped Jess had seen the interaction.

Once outside, Logan began pacing. His face in his hand, and he just wouldn't stop pacing. It made Rory tired just looking at him. "I can't believe this, Rory. You refuse to let me in our daughter's life—" She cut him off there.

"I didn't refuse anything. I turned down your marriage proposal, not your being in mine and Lola's life." She exclaimed annoyedly. He had the audacity to come in here and act like she was the bad guy. He had left her more than halfway through her pregnancy. Not her fault one bit. Logan shook his head, just as annoyed as her, and rubbed at his face. He continued to pace, and she wanted so badly to just make him stop.

"Whatever," He mumbled, refusing to let her have that. "You run to that, to that writer!" He yelled, his hand gesturing to the door. Rory threw her face into her hands. He just couldn't learn. All he cared about was himself, and what was good for him. It was so damn aggravating.

"Jess has accomplished more in the past five years than you could ever dream of accomplishing in your lifetime!" She retorted.

"Then how come I'm at the top of my company?" He questioned, his arms opening wide in a defensive way. She wanted to slap the smirk off his face, but went for the verbal instead.

"You mean your dad's company. You mean the position he gave you that was already at the top of your company. Yeah some real accomplishment." She fought back, her tone dripping with venom. He recoiled slightly, but recovered in no time.

"At least I didn't hop into the nearest bed with someone the minute we broke up!" His shout reverberated in the hallway, and she laughed. She freaking laughed like it was the funniest joke she had ever heard. He was accusing her of sleeping with Jess the second he turned his back on her. It was hilarious because it wasn't true. At least for her it wasn't true. Rory remembered the last time she saw Jess before December; she had been there because not only did Logan sleep with someone the moment they were broken up, they weren't even broken up when he slept with his sister's entire bridal party. And there was no doubt in her mind he had done it the second he got back to London after she had turned him down. Logan's face grew red as her laughter rang out.

"I have lived here for four months," She recovered from her laughing spell. The immediate change in her voice was almost scary. No longer was she speaking in a loud, annoyed yell; she was speaking softly to him, her tone as dark as chocolate. If she wasn't smaller than him, Logan would have been scared. "I didn't start dating Jess again until two weeks ago. We were just living together, peacefully, with Lola, _my_ daughter. You, sir, were the one who jumped into bed with a bridal party when we weren't even broken up. And when I said that I didn't want to get married yet, you left me high and dry at five months pregnant. Jess let me stay with him when I had no one. You're the reason I had no one. I love him, he loves me, and he loves Lola. You were just the person who walked out on us before my daughter had a chance to breathe her first breath."

Logan's face was all screwed up in frustration. He hated that she was winning this battle. She was smart, and witty, and didn't need anyone speaking up for her because she was independent. He hated that he couldn't think of a coherent thing to say against her eloquent speech. He just stood there, looking like an idiot. "You know, maybe I should be thanking you. If you hadn't left me nine months ago, I wouldn't be with Jess right now." She smirked because with that statement she had officially won. She spun around, ready to head back into the apartment, but was stopped by Logan's loathsome voice.

"What changed, Ace? We used to be perfect together." His tone was tired, and she looked at his best attempt at puppy dog eyes. Those no longer worked on her. She sighed, and turned back to him.

"Used to, Logan. People change, and you're no longer the man I need. I have Jess now. He didn't shut me out because I turned him down. He held me when I cried, he helped me take care of Lola on the late nights, he got me back onto good terms with my mother twice, he's a good father to Lola, and he loves me. He's what I need, and he's what I want." She sounded almost sad. His eyes cast to the floor.

"You know the Rolling Stones song 'You Can't Always Get What You Want,' how it ends up saying 'but sometimes you get what you need?' Well, I've gotten both living here with Jess. I'm happy. This is the first time I have actually been happy in at least a year. This is good for me, and believe me when I say it's good for Lola. She loves Jess. She gurgles when he comes home, she recognizes his voice and squeals, at night sometimes I have to put her between us so that she can feel both me and him to fall back asleep. We're happy, Logan. Why can't you understand that?" Her hand ran through her hair impatiently, but she didn't raise her voice anymore. She spoke softly to him, knowing this was the only way anything would get through to him. He sighed resignedly. He knew she was right, but he just knew that admitting it meant that she was really gone.

"I knew you were coming. My grandmother sent me a letter telling me she had given you my address. While I was angry that you didn't contact me, I was hoping to talk to you about something." Her eyes searched his downtrodden face. He looked up, catching her gaze. He thought that maybe he had hope about their whole situation.

"Yeah, what is it?" He no longer sounded angry, just disappointed. She felt bad for the next things she would be asking of him.

"I wanted to ask if you would be willing to sign over your parental rights," As soon as the words left her lips, he groaned. He should have expected that. "I just, I was going to write you a letter about it in a month or two, but then you were here so I could ask you in person. It's just that me and Jess, we think it's going to last this time. We're trying really hard to make it work, and I wanted him to adopt Lola." She noticed his expression, automatically making her feel bad. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

Logan thought about all that she had said in the past five minutes. She had spoken slowly, at normal human pace, so he knew she was serious about it all. She had even stopped criticizing him, but she had in return started complimenting Jess. The way she spoke about the writer made Logan realized that she was doing fine without him, and maybe she and that guy had something better than they could have ever had. She was right, about all of it. This writer inside her apartment was his daughter's real father. Maybe if he did as she asked, it would be easier to move on with his life. It wasn't like he knew the kid anyway. He had seen her for the first time when Jess held her on his way to the kitchen.

"Yeah, ok." He mumbled, surprised that he hadn't been more prideful about the whole situation. The smile that lit up Rory's face made it almost worth it. "Goodbye, Ace." He leaned down to kiss her forehead, and she surprised the both of them when she didn't pull away. He watched her from the elevator, her little happy dance and squeal, the way she excitedly ran in to tell Jess the good news. He had missed out on that because he let his ego get in the way.

The last he ever saw of Rory Gilmore was the smile she flashed at her apartment door as the elevator closed.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Hey guys! Well, here is a cute chapter with some stuff you might enjoy. However, with this cuteness I bring a bit of annoying news. Ok, so this week I have been in training for my job, and have been super busy without a chance to write at all. Also, I've been auditioning for the school's musical which keeps me at school until 5:30, and then I have training at 7, and I still have homework. So, I just want to prepare you for if this story runs out of prewritten chapters (which won't be for a little while). I mean I hope it doesn't come to that I have a couple weeks, but just in case I am pre-apologizing for the either lack of updates or the sparodicness of them. Ok, well enjoy this chapter, review please, and have a great Thursday!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Date night had become a normal weekly event. They would drop off the baby at Cam's, and then they would spend the night just the two of them. It had been Rory's idea to implement the whole date night cliché. She had read somewhere in a book that it was supposed to help with the upkeep of healthy relationships, and they most definitely needed to ensure they had a healthy relationship. Especially as of late. They were going to make it last this time through.

They had been dating for a month now. Lola was officially Jess's daughter, and the adults were still going steady. The brown eyed baby was growing by the second, much too fast for her parents' taste. At five months she now able to hold her head up on her own and had started eating solid foods. Even though they didn't want their little girl growing up so fast, they did enjoy the way she looked with baby food smeared all over her cheeks. She was also attempting to sit up, but most of the time ended up rolling back into either Jess or Rory's legs.

It was yet another date night, and Jess returned home to see his girlfriend and the baby cutely playing on the living room floor. Rory held Lola's arm pits to make her have the illusion of standing up. When she plopped back down to the floor, the blonde child reached for a toy that was barely in her reach. When she saw Jess, she raised her arms a bit to indicate she wanted to be picked up. He gladly obliged, and she tried to wrap her pudgy arms around his neck. Rory's heart melted.

"You ready to go to Aunty Cam's, Blondie?" He pulled the baby away slightly so he could look at her face. She gurgled a response that he was going to take for yes. Jess took a step near Rory, and placed a soft kiss on her lips which she smiled into. "Cam offered to keep her the whole night." He said when they parted. The woman stopped short, the cogs whirling quickly in her mind.

"The wh-whole night?" She double checked. Her boyfriend nodded, and started bouncing Lola around. He kissed her once more before going to Lola's room to pack her things. Rory slid down to the couch, now alone. She knew what Cam was up to. They had talked about her relationship with Jess, and now Cam was pulling out the big guns. The whole night without Lola could only entitle one thing, and Rory wasn't sure what she thought about it.

When she was a teenager, she had wanted him to be her first, but then he left. Now, they were back together, she had a kid whom he had adopted, and they were going to have the apartment just to themselves. Heat rushed to her cheeks as the many possibilities came to her mind. She could hear Jess in Lola's room, cooing and talking funnily, and man, did she love him. That didn't calm her fears any less. It wasn't like she didn't want them to have a night for just the two of them, but she was still nervous. She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't notice Jess talking to her.

"I, uh, what?" She was brought from her reverie. The man holding the baby smirked, but still had an inquisitive look in his eyes. He looked her up and down, wondering if he could deduce her current flightiness.

"We're dropping off Lola at Cam's, and then we're getting pizza and catching a movie," He explained slowly. She nodded distractedly; he bent down a bit to get a better look at her slightly covered face. "You okay?" He asked. Once again, she was pulled from her thoughts, and snapped her head to look at him. His confusion was adorable, but it still didn't take her mind off of the fact that Cam was keeping the baby for the whole night.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go." She sidestepped him easily, further confusing him. But, he followed her anyway. She was already in the car, buckled up and staring ahead. Her sudden change in behavior worried Jess, and he was afraid there was something Rory wasn't telling him. He strapped Lola in, taking a few moments every once in a while to watch the woman in the passenger seat. She sat perfectly still like she was a mannequin at _Macy's_.

They pulled up to Cam and Matthew's apartment, and Rory still hadn't said or done anything. She did take Lola's car seat up to the door, and she made sure to have as little contact with Jess as possible. She jumped a tiny bit in surprise when Cam hugged her and said, "You're welcome." She got out of their as quickly as possible without looking suspicious. She shot a short glance Jess's way when he started walking back to the car, but as soon as she looked, she turned her head away.

The door on his side shut loudly, and she still didn't look up. She jumped, but her sight never left her hands. "She's gonna be fine," He reassured her, thinking she was worried about their daughter. "She loves Cam and Matt. There's nothing to worry about." Jess hoped he had calmed her fears somewhat, but that wasn't at all what she was nervous about. The way she was acting made him think about the possibilities of going to the hospital, but that thought was thrown out the window when she made a mad dash for the pizza parlor's doors.

She had even ordered for them by the time he had reached the doors. She found a large table that was near the front and had lots of lighting. She was ringing her hands and daintily sipping on her coke when he sat down beside her. She moved her chair a slight amount, hoping he wouldn't notice. He noticed. He didn't move closer.

When the pizza arrived, Rory only picked at it. Yet another tell-tale sign that she was not ok. She had ordered half the pizza just the way she likes it, and she could always put away at least half of the half in ten minutes. She had barely eaten one piece in the same amount of time. Jess spoke to her, and Rory only nodded. He had been keeping up this one sided conversation for about half an hour; it was getting tiresome.

He sighed heavily, and dropped his crust onto his paper plate. Her eyes were transfixed on her own plate. "You know how you said this whole relationship thing needed communication? That the only way we can really make it work this time is if we actually talk to each other? Yeah, so what are you so quiet about? Did I do something wrong, or did Chris say something, cause you know he's just kidding." She finally met his stare. He did have a point; she had said that communication was key this time around, and they had been doing really well in that department surprisingly. She still didn't want to tell him, though. It would only embarrass her.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," She sounded unbelievably unconvincing. The look in his eyes told her he wasn't buying it. "No, you were right. I was just worried about Lola staying at Cam and Matt's for the whole night." She was lying through her teeth, and it was incredibly obvious.

"That's not it," He called her out. "I know you. Something's bothering you, and you won't tell me." She once again thought to retort about all the times during their first relationship when he had kept his feelings from her, but she refrained. She should have told the truth from the beginning. Jess knew her like the back of his hand; there was no way she could lie to him and get away with it.

She took a long swallow of her drink (her mouth felt incredibly dry now) before answering. "You said that Cam was taking Lola for the whole night." Jess fought the urge to roll his eyes when Rory said that. They had established Lola was not the reason for her odd behavior. Instead, he nodded along with her explanation. "That means that we have the apartment to ourselves for the whole night." She tried to say what she had to say with as little words as possible, and maybe use her eyes a bit. Jess was still a bit confused. "Jess, apartment, alone, just us." Rory felt like she was spelling it out for him when it finally clicked.

His eyes lit up a tiny bit, and he started to chuckle. Rory stared at him funny. "I hadn't even thought about that," He admitted, and she blushed because she was the first one to think of it. "I was thinking we could get a full night's sleep for the first time ever. Sleep in, and go out to breakfast. But I like the way your mind works, Miss Gilmore." He teased. Her hand came up to cover her red cheeks.

"I was worried that you expected something from me tonight," She whispered embarrassedly. He shook his head.

"Nope, just catching up on the sleep we haven't had since you came to live with me." He smiled, and she knew he wasn't kidding. His smile was too genuine (it only happened once in a blue moon that was how she knew he wasn't messing with her).

"I, um, I was worried a-about how I looked after the baby," She mumbled, deciding to continue with this whole spilling her every insecurity and thought. As she had said, and he quoted: their relationship needed communication. Jess moved his chair closer when he heard what Rory had said. He could see her eyes watering as she tried to hide behind her hair. He pulled her into his lap, and kissed her temple.

He looked deeply into her eyes, but she averted them quickly. "I couldn't even tell you had been pregnant, like at all, when you were at my door that first night. It was because of Lola that I knew, obviously. You don't look any different than you did when we were teenagers." He smiled at her lovingly. Her eyes flicked to his face, and her built up tears went away. She brought her hands up to his face, and pressed her lips to his.

"Let's skip the movie, and just go home," Rory seductively murmured. Jess laughed and stood. "Wait, the pizza! We're gonna need sustenance." She began wrapping up the pizza.

"I like the way you think Gilmore," He muttered into her hair when he threw an arm around her shoulder. She giggled, throwing her body closer to his. "What's the fastest way home?"

 **XXX**

Rory was in utter bliss when she woke up the next morning. They had slept in like Jess had wanted to, but they also did a little "exercising" to ensure they slept better. They had eaten the leftover pizza in bed at three in the morning, all tangled up in the sheets. She could still feel his chest that she was using as a pillow, and the steadiness of his breathing indicated he was still asleep, making her happy. Most times, Jess was up first, and he would always watch her sleep until she awoke, but this time she could cuddle up next to him and listen to the rhythmic beating of his heart.

She nudged him lightly when she took a look at the clock. "Jess, we have to go get Lola from Cam's." She kissed his cheek lightly. He mumbled in his sleepy state, and Rory giggled. She very much enjoyed this new feeling of waking up in his arms; especially, after last night. "Come on, we promised Cam we would pick her up an hour ago." She continued, rolling out of bed. He grumbled when she was no longer beside him, but it did force him to get up.

Rory was dressed and ready in just a few minutes, and she was out in the living room forcing the stroller her mom had bought them down into the condensed, easy to carry state. She gasped lightly when Jess reached down to grab it from her fumbling hands, but she smiled despite the slight scare he had given her. She quickly kissed him before heading down to the car.

When they reached Cam and Matt's house, they grinned seeing their friends out on the front porch trying to calm a crying Lola. They looked like they had been waiting for the parents to show up, and Matt's weird impression of God knows what was falling a little droopy. The car pulled to a stop outside of the townhome, and Cam came rushing at it with Lola still screaming. "Your kid turned demon last night. Don't know what it is, she just flipped." She tried to tell them over the loud baby. Lola was handed to her mother, and she felt warm to the touch.

Rory turned to Jess, who was eyeing her curiously, and she motioned for a thermometer. "Thanks, Cam. I think she's getting sick." She kissed the baby's forehead, and it most definitely felt warmer than usual. Matt came rushing at them with the baby bag, and the look on his face forced Jess to hold in his laughter. "Thanks guys." Then Rory started assessing the situation, and she got Lola ready to head back to their apartment.

She sent an odd look Jess's way when he started chuckling on the way home. "Did you see the look on Matthew's face? Lola is the best form of birth control ever." He laughed over the still crying baby. Rory did begin to chuckle as well, but she stopped quickly hearing her daughter's cries. The baby was incessant, and her little face was contorted as she screamed. The mother made a mad dash for the apartment before the car had completely stopped.

Rory went around the apartment, searching for the baby thermometer she knew they had bought a month ago. Lately, they had been buying more things for Lola; more things she would need as she grew. She officially had a real crib, and more toys, and a highchair, and the other baby essentials they hadn't had until recently. Rory's searching was ended when Jess came waltzing in with the baby bag, and in his hand was the thermometer. She reached up to kiss him after swiping the object from his fingers. Her fears thankfully quieted when Lola's temperature was only 99.6; nothing too high that would ensure the adults to freak out.

That didn't stop Rory from pacing. She walked all around the apartment when Lola finally fell asleep. Jess watched her rush around trying to find something to do, but would then go back to the walking in circles. "Do you want me to call the pediatrician?" He called into the kitchen where she was scrubbing down the stovetop. She slowly came into the living room, looking a tad ridiculous in her yellow rubber gloves.

"No, no. She's fine," Rory still sounded worried, not at all believing her statement. "I, just, can you go buy that Tylenol? I called Mom, and she said that the baby's Tylenol is fine. And it's such a low grade fever, she said Lola should be fine soon." Jess nodded, and pulled her into a loving hug when he was standing up.

"Your mom's right," He paused slightly, and made a funny face to no one. "Never thought I'd ever say that. It's ok to be a little freaked out 'cause this is the first time she's been sick. You can be a little scared." He assured her. She bobbed her head, and let go so he could get the things they needed, and she could go back to working on the kitchen.

When he returned, Rory practically assaulted him for the Tylenol. Lola had woken up in the time he had been gone (there had just been so many medicines to choose from; it wasn't his fault. Well, maybe it was because he had been offered help, but he kept refusing it, and then he further confused himself. By the time he finally asked for help, the pharmacist had moved on, and he had to wait to ask any questions. That's what he got for being stubborn), and Rory was getting nervous as to why he hadn't returned. He explained it in so many words without wounding his pride, and she had laughed good naturedly, albeit distractedly, and rushed off to tend to the screeching baby.

Jess had annoyedly grumbled about his decision in not buying earplugs, but all was forgotten when Lola calmed down in his arms. "Lola, look at Daddy," He smiled brightly at her, holding up the Ernest Hemingway plushy. Her little cheeks were still red from the fever and crying, but her temperature had gone down when she had been given the medicine. "Lola, look at Daddy. Come on, smile pretty girl." He encouraged her, still waving the plushy toy. She finally smiled, and Jess blew raspberries on her stomach. "That's right, Princess."

He spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch with Lola. She lay across his chest, and they took long naps. Rory would sometimes join them, but she was still too wound up to sleep for the long periods of time that her boyfriend and daughter were. It amazed her how laid back Jess was, and how easily he fell asleep. Though, if she was being honest, napping since Lola was born has been pretty easy for her as well.

"She slept so much today. How is she still able to go to bed at the normal time?" Rory wondered stepping into their bedroom. Jess shrugged beside her, and pulled her down with him onto the bed. "You guys were really cute today." She mused, as she shifted closer.

"So much for that walk you had planned," He said quietly because he swore Lola knew when they were just about to fall asleep, or they were finally relaxing after a hard day, and he did not want to give her a reason to wake up screaming.

"No, but it was worth it," She said blissfully. "I like that you insist she's gonna call you 'Daddy.' And I got some really cute pictures of you guys napping on the couch."

"We're doing good, aren't we?" He smiled despite the fact that she couldn't see him in the dark. She nodded against his chest, a smile gracing her features as well.

"Yeah," she hummed in agreement. "Love you." She murmured, sleep beginning to take over. It was the first time either one had said it knowing the other was conscious besides Rory's freak out about them lasting a few weeks previous. He squeezed her a bit tighter, and pressed a sweet kiss to her forehead.

"Love you, too." Was the last thing Rory heard before falling asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Hey guys! Ok, wow this week just went by really really quickly! Anyway, here is another chapter, and I gotta say it's a doozy. Frankly, I have no idea where this storyline came from, but I wrote it, I like it, and I'm keeping it! So, yeah please review and tell me your thoughts on this chapter cause last chap I got only like three reviews. It's not really a big deal anyway, but this chapter my oh my! I'm so gonna need your feedback on this one cause I love to hear your thoughts, and I have kept this chapter and plot line inside me for weeks, and I gotsta know what y'all think of it. Seriously, I love it, but hey to each his own am I right?**

 **Also, I didn't get into the school musical so I guess I'm gonna have just as much writing time as usual, now to get over that case of writer's block. And one more thing, I have been occasionally writing down things for another Literati story called "Jane." I began actually writing it down today instead of the odd little sections here and there in my phone. SO tell me if you think I should publish that as well. So sorry that this was a long AN, I had a lot to tell you, and I hope you read this but if not I respect that cause I never read these things either! Happy reading, happy week, happy reviewing!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

Walks had been implemented almost daily. Even more so when June rolled around. Sundays were the best days to walk, but that was probably just because of the old stereotype about Sunday afternoon strolls in the park. It didn't change the fact that those were Rory's favorite days to take a walk around town. Jess silently liked those days best as well. Picnics were also a big part of their daily walks during Jess's lunch break, and Matt and Chris would mock them mercilessly about it.

They never seemed to mind. So, on a gorgeous Sunday in June, the small family headed out for their normal picnic and walk. The picnics had grown more fun as Lola was able to sit up on her own now, and she began eating more and more solid foods. She had even begun moving around a bit, mostly scooting on her butt, and Rory felt like now she was always looking over her shoulder at the six-month-old.

"No, wait, Lola. Don't eat the grass!" Rory exclaimed as they were out on their picnic. She had looked over to see the blonde baby holding a handful of grass that was inching towards her opened mouth. Jess easily pulled her into his lap, and opened Lola's chubby hand to remove the roughage. "Everything is going in her mouth these days," Rory sighed, and pinched lovingly at her daughter's ruddy cheeks.

"Last week when I took her to work with me, she kept pulling at the book marks at the front desk. Cam had handed them to her to play with. She turned her back for one second, and all the book marks were covered in baby slobber." He smiled at his girlfriend. She laughed, finally understanding why Jess had come home with a whole bag of bookmarks and saying that they were for Lola when she began reading.

An hour passed of cute banter, and it was reaching Lola's nap time. Thankfully, the baby had been getting onto a schedule, and lately, she was doing really well with staying asleep at night. The time had flown since she was a newborn waking up at the quietest of sounds. She adorably fell against her mother's chest, and she yawned largely. "Time to go home," Rory sing songed/whispered. Jess nodded, and he gathered their things while Rory placed Lola in her stroller.

The walk back to their apartment wasn't that far, so most days (more so with the warm weather) they walked almost everywhere. "Damn," Jess mumbled as he looked around at all their items. "I left the book I was editing at the park." He explained. Rory offered to wait for him, but he insisted she return home since he would be at least another five minutes. She was practically right in front of their building anyway.

She peacefully stepped into the elevator upon entering the building, and she even nodded her head along with the atrocious elevator music. There was something about her mood after their picnics, or just after spending the time as a family. Those days and moments were what made moving to Philly worth it. Rory's peaceful moment was shattered though when the elevator stopped on her floor.

The doors had barely opened, and she heard someone yelling and pounding on one of the doors. It would no doubt wake up Lola, and that would not go over well with the mother. What surprised her, was that the person was knocking on the door to her and Jess's apartment. It was a woman, and she was screeching so loud and annoying. "I know you're in there, Jess! Come out!" She continued to throw her fist at the entrance to the apartment.

Rory stepped over calmly, grabbing the woman's attention. "Actually, Jess isn't in there. He's still at the park." The way she spoke sounded so innocent, like she was seventeen again in Stars Hollow. The woman before her eyed her with scrutiny. Her face turned red when she saw Lola asleep in the stroller.

"Who're you?" The woman asked, her voice dripping with malice. She kept studying Rory, and it really was beginning to scare the 22-year-old. She backed up a tiny bit, but the stranger leaned forward.

"I'm Rory, Jess's girlfriend." She knew it was stupid to say something like that, but it had just come out. There was a stranger at their door, and the most logical thing to say had been that she had a legitimate reason to be at the apartment. The woman's eyes fell upon Lola, and her scowl deepened.

"That his kid?" She asked. Rory was flustered to say the least.

"Yes. I mean no. I mean yes and no. She's mine, but Jess adopted her a few months ago." She rambled, unsure of what Jess really was to her daughter. He was 'Daddy,' but he wasn't biologically. It was strange to say that Lola was his when she really wasn't, but she technically was. It confused Rory just by thinking about it. The woman still seemed upset, but she didn't say anymore. "Do you want me to tell him that you were here?" She was trying to be polite, she really was. The woman shook her head defiantly.

"I got some unfinished business," The stranger moved slightly to reveal a pink baby carrier, nearly identical to the one Lola had. How Rory had missed something that monumental when approaching, she wasn't sure, but she held back a gasp as she looked into see a sleeping newborn. At that moment, the elevator doors opened to reveal Jess.

The stranger glared at Rory, and picked up the baby carrier she had. Jess gaped at her, his mouth had gone dry the second he saw her at his door. She shoved the carrier into his arms, and he still gaped at her. "She's yours. I'm not dealing with this a day longer. Her name's Carolina. You're just lucky I sent her to you instead of doing something drastic." The woman growled, pushing past him to the elevator. He couldn't say anything; he kept staring between the now closed elevator, the newborn, and Rory. She watched him worriedly, a nearly nonexistent jealous glint in her eye.

She spun around, not saying a word when she walked inside. Jess followed, still confused, doing a whole lot of math in his head. He reached the living room slowly, and sat on the couch when Rory returned. She stared at him, wondering what the heck had just happened. He was wondering the same thing. It made next to no sense, and it could possibly throw a wrench into the relationship the two had been working extremely hard to uphold.

"Who was that?" Rory finally broke the silence. She sat beside him on the couch, taking a look into the baby carrier. The baby couldn't be more than five days at the most, and it just baffled her mind that someone would throw their own child out. She wondered what the woman meant when she said she would have done something drastic.

Jess looked up, meeting her eyes. Then his gaze fell back onto the baby, Carolina, in the carrier. "Th-that was Elaine. She broke up with me about…" He faltered. Oh no. He thought back to the last time he had seen Elaine. It had ended ugly; she had been screaming at him for some random thing he did, and then she left. "Seven, almost eight, months ago." He continued to stare at Carolina, taking in her every detail. His relationship with Elaine hadn't been long in itself; really, it had just been an off again on again fling they had every once in a while. Now, here he was holding a baby that she had almost literally left on his doorstep.

"Shit, Ror. She didn't tell me. She just screamed at me and left. I'm so sorry." Rory wasn't exactly clear on why he was apologizing to her. It wasn't like he had known and kept this from her. He had just found out that his ex-girlfriend, who dumped him, had had a baby. It wasn't like Luke and Lorelai had been (not that she was comparing this to that situation. She had heard from her mom that April had been in town a few times, and she was warming up easily to the elder Gilmore. Making things less tension filled between Lorelai and Luke) when he kept that from her and then the whole world fell out of place. Rory was understanding; Jess had been understanding when she showed up with her ex-boyfriend's baby. He deserved for her to be understanding too.

"It's not your fault," She grabbed his face, so he was looking at her. "You didn't know about this. You have nothing to be sorry about. It's going to be fine." She sounded like he did when she first moved in with him six months previous. It seemed like a lifetime now, and she wouldn't trade it for the world. She saw the way his eyes were filled with worry, but for some odd reason, she was perfectly calm. Maybe it was because they had already gotten through this part with Lola, who was to say they couldn't do it again?

They fell into silence, each studying the little girl in the car seat. She was surprisingly calm; her blue eyes wide as they darted quickly around her new surroundings. She had little tufts of brown hair on the top of her head, and she was still swaddled in the blanket from the hospital. "Carolina sounds to formal." Jess broke the silence, but never took his eyes off his daughter (it seemed weird to think about it. This baby was his daughter; Lola was too, but this one was literally a part of him. He figured this was how Rory must have felt looking at Lola for the first time).

"Yeah, we could shorten it." Rory suggested. It was still a beautiful name, but it didn't seem so right for a few days old baby. "What about Carrie?" She asked. They shared a look, but Rory scrunched up her nose as soon as she had thought it.

"Carol?" Jess thought. But she didn't really look like a Carol. He shook his head before Rory could say anything about it.

"What about Lena? Like Lena Lamont from _Singin' In the Rain_! Lina sounds weird, but Lena just fits." Her eyes lit up when she said it. Jess had to admit it did sound better than Carol or Carrie. The baby smiled when Rory said 'Lena,' so they had to take it as a sign that she liked the name (it didn't matter that it was completely impossible). He nodded along, it did seem to fit.

"Yeah, Lena's good." He responded. Rory smiled brightly, refraining from squealing, so she didn't wake up Lola. Then Lena began to whimper, and for the first time she was being taken out of her car seat. Jess obviously held her first, and he thought he was being a bit more delicate than he had been with Lola. Although, that was a few months ago, so he really didn't have a good way of remembering how softly he held the other baby. She still didn't quiet down, and Rory took her into her arms.

"I got this," She assured him before heading into the kitchen. She returned with the cover up she used to feed Lola, and realization hit Jess like a ton of bricks. He had almost forgotten about that. Even though Lola had been weaning onto solid foods, she still had a bottle at nights, and Rory was still using the breast pump when needed.

"See, happy baby!" She cheered when Lena fell asleep with a full belly. They continued to watch the sleeping child; her eyelids fluttered in her sleep, and she was now free of her confines in the swaddled blanket. While Lola had preferred to be free to wiggle as she pleased, from what they had seen, Lena preferred the blanket tightly wrapped around her tiny body. "Jess, she's beautiful." Rory whispered, tracing a soft touch along the baby's nose. He nodded in agreement.

He was still in shock that he had a daughter. Sure, he had had Lola as his for the past two months, but Lena was a part of him. She was his flesh and blood, and he swore he saw some of his own features in the sleeping baby. It was probably just his mind playing tricks, but he wanted to believe that it was true. He looked to Rory, and the way she watched Lena with an awestruck look. He wondered what was going through that pretty little mind of hers.

She felt his gaze. She knew he had moved from being transfixed on his daughter (his daughter! She was still having trouble believing it, but it was true. Lena was quite adorable, it was easy to immediately be taken with her), and now he had his focus on her. She had felt odd, feeding this other child. She had read books about women who were nurses and fed other women's babies, but she never saw herself ever doing that. That was, until Lena was dropped on their doorstep. It baffled Rory as to how someone could so easily part with their child, could feel resentment toward their child, could ever think of the possibility of harming their child. She had seen the crazed look in Elaine's eyes, and she was sort of glad she had handed off the baby.

There was no doubt in the world that this could have an enormous effect on their relationship, but Rory would rather have them taking care of Lena than Elaine. She had barely even seen the baby, yet she had felt so much fear thinking about Elaine possibly harming her. Now, they had bonded in such a natural way, and she felt happiness thinking of having another baby in their house. She could tell Jess was already ecstatic (it didn't matter how scared he was, he was ecstatic) about Lena. It was in his eyes when he watched the brown-haired baby sleep. She had seen that exact look in his eyes when Lola was that small. He was just turning into an old softy dad. It was the cutest thing ever.

"I love you." She broke through their deep contemplation. He smiled at her, and leaned down for a quick soft kiss. She smiled against his lips, but quickly pulled away when she heard Lola crying from the extra room. "Here, you hold Lena. I've got Lola." And then she rushed into her daughter's room.

Lola was sitting up in her crib, tears sliding down her plump cheeks. Her arms raised for her mother who easily obliged. Rory walked around the small room, examining it down to a tee. She bounced Lola up and down, humming some old song she couldn't remember the origins of. She made a set of blueprints in her mind. She mentally moved things, took things out, added things in. It was all going to be a challenge, but there needed to be room for Lena. Lola had finally calmed down when Rory had finished assessing their current room situations.

"Babe, we're gonna need to get the pack-n-play back out. Lola can sleep in that, and then Lena can sleep in the crib. Do you think for the first couple nights we should keep her in our room? It might be better for Lola's sleeping patterns, and it would make getting to her in the middle of the night easier. Oh no, we're gonna be on that crazy sleep schedule. Also, we should probably get a few doubles of things. Lola has outgrown some of her clothes, so those can go to Lena. But there are somethings that we really can't hand down like cribs and highchairs since their so close in age." Rory rambled when she returned to the living room with Lola tucked safely in her arms. The sudden burst of new things they would be needing took Jess for pause. He hadn't even thought about those things.

He cut Rory off mid ramble with a strong kiss. They pulled apart when Lola squirmed at the close proximity. The blonde baby was placed on the floor in front of her blocks where she could play contently for the next few minutes while her parents worked out the kinks. "You're amazing," He mumbled into her hair. "I hadn't even thought of those things. You're just amazing." He continued to press his lips against hers with what felt like every word.

Rory smiled, and together they sunk down to the floor with Lola. They had switched, and now Rory held Lena while Jess played blocks with Lola. This had to have been the most domestic scene yet, and she loved it. When Lena woke, she didn't cry. Instead, she stared at everything in fascination. The woman ran her hand over the soft brown hair that lay atop the baby's head. She met Lena's eyes, blue on blue, and she knew that it was going to be ok. She understood the strong feelings Jess had for Lola when she had first asked for his help.

"Ah!" Lola squealed happily at Jess, and handed him a block. He took it gladly, and smiled while building a tower. Lola's arm reached out, and the tower fell. It was so mundane, but the baby's giggles were the best thing. Rory watched them interact, thinking about how far they had come. She caught Jess's eye, and they were bright with excitement. They had encountered a new challenge, but they were ready for it.

Later that night, they lay in bed after putting the crib in their room for Lena. They had been close to sleep, but Jess was suddenly wide awake as his mind raced. He looked down at Rory; she was half asleep, but he had to talk to her about this. He nudged her lightly, and whispered her name. She muttered a curse, wondering why he was waking her when they were going to be woken up any minute.

"Rory, you should adopt Lena." That woke her up. She sat up a bit that way they were face to face. "I mean you wanted me to adopt Lola, and we know that Elaine is never coming back. It would be perfect." He explained. She really hadn't expected that. Though they had been dating for three months now, and he was right. It was perfect.

"I would love that," She told him. "But we need to get to sleep." She lay her head back down on his chest. He smiled into the dark room, and he too tried to fall asleep. Their attempts proved futile when Lena woke up half an hour later. At least their kids were the most adorable alarm clocks.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Hi guys! I almost forgot about this to be honest, not the story, but the new chapter cause I've been so busy. So, sorry about that. Anyway, thanks so much for all those reviews last week this is the most reviews I have ever gotten on a story, and I'm so close to a hundred so yay! I have hopefully gotten my mojo back, as I have thought up some new ideas for this story, and we'll see where they take me! Happy reading, happy reviewing, and happy Tuesday!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Rory could not remember what it was like to sleep. A week full of crying babies did not do well in the getting rest department. They had moved Lena into Lola's room, hoping it would help her get into a good sleeping schedule. It only made their lives worse. Whenever Lena woke up, it woke Lola up. It was messing with Lola's normal sleeping pattern, and it didn't help them create one for Lena at all. They both continued to wake each other up, and it kept Jess and Rory from getting any form of sleep.

He had been staying home with her since Monday, but she insisted he return to Truncheon that Friday. He did, albeit regretfully, and now she wished she had let him stay. The girls were on completely different patterns which was to be expected with them being completely different people, but dear God, was it horrible. One slept when the other woke. One pooped and the other ate. One cried and the other smiled. One would cry and wake the other so there were two crying babies. And, Jess wasn't there, so she was doing it alone. She hadn't taken care of Lola by herself, and now she was taking care of two babies.

By some stroke of crazy luck, both girls had taken a nap at the same time. Rory had broken down and called her mother. Lorelai had been informed of Jess's daughter being thrust into their lives, and she had been waiting for her daughter's hysterical call while she cared for two close in age children. She informed her daughter she was on her way, and when they hung up, Rory called Jess. She had locked herself away in the bathroom where her sobs couldn't be heard and wake up the finally sleeping babies.

"Jess, I shouldn't have let you go to work. I'm so sorry. I'm failing. They just cry all the time, and Lola isn't calmed down by her toys. Lena's doing normal newborn things, but then I get distracted by Lola. I can't do this alone," She cried into the phone. "I'm really tired." She whimpered almost inaudibly.

"I'm coming home now, Babe. It's fine." He assured her before hanging up. She held the cellphone to her chest, and waited in the bathtub for her boyfriend to return home. If the girls were farther apart in age, this would be easier, but they weren't. They were both still under one, and they needed a lot of attention from their parents.

Jess found Rory curled up asleep in the bathtub. Her face was buried in her knees, and her phone was falling from her limp hands. He had smiled a bit when he found her in that position, but he knew that this was taking a toll on her. She had struggled in the beginning with Lola, but as the blonde grew it got easier. Now she was starting at square one, and Lola was still extremely young.

It wasn't exactly a walk in the park for him either. Lola was in want of attention, and Jess really wanted to give it to her. However, he found himself most times helping Rory with Lena. He knew that Rory insisting he go to work was bad, but he was the one with the steady job. The woman currently sleeping in the bathtub was still working hard at her online school, but she wasn't going to be working for a while. Jess was brought from his thoughts when Lena (he was pretty sure it was Lena, but lately, both babies' cries sounded the same) began crying.

He left Rory where she was, and he rushed into the nursery. Lena was indeed the one crying, and she had woken up Lola. He picked up Lena to change her diaper, after which she easily quieted. Then he reached down for Lola who latched on to his shoulder. He tried to lower Lola to the ground, but she refused to let go of his shirt. He really hated doing this, but he would have to wake up Rory. When awoken, the blue eyed woman let a slight moan escape, but she quickly followed him to the nursery.

She didn't care all that much that the girls were awake; she cared that the girls were quiet. That was enough to cause her to cry in joy. Throughout the past week, neither baby had been honest to goodness quiet at the same time. Rory had to revel in it while it lasted. It didn't last long. A knock at the door startled Lena causing her to screech her head off, and because Lena was crying Lola started crying. Rory picked up Lola to get her away from the noise while she answered the door. It swung open to reveal a disheveled Lorelai.

"Mommy!" Rory yelled, falling into her mother's embrace. Lorelai held tightly, shushing her once again crying daughter, and running her hand down her hair. Lola had stopped crying, but Lena could still be heard squalling.

"I got here as fast as I could." Lorelai murmured into her daughter's hair. The younger Gilmore shook in her mother's arms. She was so tired, and she just wanted a little peace and quiet. But her mom was there now, her mom made everything better, her mom fixed everything. "I know, Baby. I know." She whispered, not letting her hand leave her sobbing daughter's hair.

Jess came to the door, trying to calm down Lena, but failing because she was hungry. There was nothing he could do about that. "Ror, she's hungry." He tried to talk quietly, but it was difficult over the loud screams. "Hi, Lorelai." He mumbled, noticing his girlfriend's mother. She nodded politely, and took Lola from Rory's arms. Rory tried a feeble smile, but it broke when she took Lena away.

Lola studied her grandmother while her father watched. She had met Lorelai a few times after the first time in Stars Hollow three months ago. She had been making various trips down, or they had been making trips up. Lola did warm up to her, and Lorelai knew all was well. "Jess," She got his attention. He looked dead on his feet, falling asleep standing up. "What do you need?" She asked sincerely. The writer blinked a few times, confusion setting in for a moment, before registering what she had said.

"Uh," He was drawing a blank. Well, he actually knew what they needed, but he was much too tired to comprehend anything right now. He wondered how he had gotten to work that morning. "You mean besides sleep? Uh, diapers, formula, baby food, spit up rags, sleep, quiet…" He trailed off after he stopped listing off material things. "Laundry done, food… we haven't eaten in like two days…" Things were coming back to him in bursts, and it amazed him how much they had forgotten in the past couple days.

"Food I can do. I'll take Lola, so you and Rory can worry about Lena." Lorelai grabbed at Lola's car seat on the floor, and made her way down the hallway. When the door was shut, Jess made his way into his and Rory's bedroom. He saw her curled up on the bed, Lena asleep in her crib which they had once again moved a few minutes ago back into their room to make sure Lola got some sleep. She probably wouldn't, but they still had to try.

"New babies are hard," Rory mumbled, half-joking half-trying not to cry, when she felt the bed dip with Jess's added weight. Looking back at the past few months, Lola had been easy compared to Lena. Or maybe she was just easier because they could give her their undivided attention. He wrapped her up in his arms, trying to stop her shuddering.

"I talked to the guys about getting some time off, to stay home with you and the girls," He whispered into her hair, which moved when she shook her head. "Listen, Ror. It might be better this way. We work better as a team, and there's two of us for two kids. I can write my book anywhere, I can edit anywhere. You can't be a mother anywhere, and you can't do it alone while I'm at work." He reasoned, hoping she would understand. She slowly came to terms with what he was saying, and he felt her miniscule nod. "I'm sorry." He kept telling her that. He kept saying it over and over. He was so sorry about them having to take in Lena. He wouldn't deny he liked the thought of having his own kid, but in reality, it was placing difficulties on them.

"Jess, it's not your fault," She still sounded croaky from all the crying she had done that day while the girls slept. She didn't like how much he was apologizing for something that he couldn't have known about, couldn't have stopped, couldn't have changed. "You saved Lena from whatever uncertainty was laying ahead with Elaine. I love you more for it. I love you, and I love Lola, and I am loving Lena. If anything, I should be sorry. I'm failing as a mother. We have two perfect little girls, and I'm having a nervous breakdown every twenty minutes. _I'm_ sorry." The more she thought about how horrible she was doing this week, the faster the tears came up. She had been failing on so many levels the past six months, but throughout all of that, being a mother was the thing she was excelling at. Now, she was failing at that too.

She quietly cried into his chest (they really did not need Lena waking up again because she had been crying), and he hated that she felt like a failure as a mother. She was perfect. _His_ mother was a failure. He should be the one thinking he was failing, not her. She had the best example with Lorelai, and he had had the worst example with Liz. He hated when she felt inadequate.

"We're still pretty young, I mean who else was this successful at 22?" He tried to encourage her, show her how amazing she really was.

"You're 23 now," She sniffed. Then she started crying again. "I forgot your birthday, I'm so sorry!" To be honest, he had forgotten his birthday too. Lena had been dropped off with them on the ninth, and his birthday was the twelfth. They hadn't slept at all that day, so he couldn't blame her for forgetting.

"I forgot about it too," He chuckled, and placed a kiss on her forehead. She didn't calm down.

"No, but I had this whole thing planned. I had asked the guys to give you the day off, and we were going to go out to breakfast, and then go for a picnic, and then come back here where Cam and Matt and Chris were supposed to have set up the party, and Luke was supposed to come down, and there was going to be cake, and I messed it up and forgot." He knew that she explained the day with a sob because she was so tired, but he also knew it was the thought that counted. No one had ever done, or thought about doing something like that for him.

He pushed her chin up to look at him, and he placed a passionate kiss on her still moving lips. She stopped talking and melted into the kiss. He could taste her tears mixing in with their lips, and he used his thumb to wipe a few away. "I love you so much right now," He declared when they pulled apart. "You're the absolute best mother to our girls because you're trying, and you had planned me a birthday party. No one has ever done that for me, and I love you so much for it." Ever since Rory had moved to Philly, Jess found it easier for him to speak his mind and his feelings. He was sadly getting more talkative, but being with her was worth doing all the mushy talk.

They were able to take a short (extremely short, barely even ten minute) nap while Lola and Lorelai were gone, and Lena slept. The sleeping newborn was a serious joy to them since she hadn't slept at all since being thrust upon them. Lola being occupied made things easier since they were only focusing on one baby. They weren't sure if they were ready to let Lorelai leave, and she had been there only twenty minutes.

Although, five minutes before Lorelai and Lola returned, Lena woke up in need of a diaper change. Jess got up to help with that one, and let Rory continue to lie on the bed. She was so tired that it was no longer about the sleep, and all about the sitting down. Jess did bring Lena over to the bed after he had finished changing her diaper. She easily fit between them like Lola, and she was now content and wiggling around. Rory looked up at her boyfriend as he smiled down at the newest member to their family.

"You're a good dad." She brushed a strand of hair away from his forehead. He smiled, and kissed her cheek.

"You're a good mom," He responded. The quiet brought a wave of peace over the parents, and for the first time that week, Rory felt calm. She knew that it would all be ok when they adjusted. Hopefully, they would adjust soon.

 **XXX**

Because things had gotten so hectic, Rory had taken to wearing a Baby Björn around the house. Her mother had brought it back from her shopping trip with Lola, along with a few outfits for the babies and for Rory. Now, she was being teased for it. The mocking stopped though when she forced Jess to wear it in public. He respected her wearing it now. It made life easier, putting Lena in her carrier on the counter, and placing Lola in the Baby Björn while she made dinner.

Lorelai had then mocked her for the ability to make dinner. A skill that she claimed was useless in the real world while Rory had a newfound respect for stay at home mothers making meals and taking care of the children. She had learned that past week that it was no easy feat, but it got easier as they fell into a new routine. Lola was getting better at entertaining herself, and Lorelai had been staying with them for almost a week. It was crazy how much had changed in the past week that her mother was there.

Somehow, Rory had gotten a handle on all things baby, and she was starting to not need so much help. That meant that Jess could soon go back to work, and her mom could go back to Stars Hollow. She was going to be sad when their lives went back to normal and she was once again alone with the babies, but at least she knew what she was doing now. That first week had been a nightmare, but she was now used to running on no sleep. They had started putting both girls on formula, so that Rory could once again drink coffee (real coffee, not the disgusting decaf she had been drinking for the past six months). It made all the difference in being, as Lorelai had termed it, "Super Mom."

She had started out slow, though, when sending her family back to work. Rory sent Jess back first since Lorelai was going to be in town for a few more days. Plus, her mother was practically doing nothing anyway, so it would be just a preview of the following week. It was nice; however, having another adult to talk to. Cam had to work, and even though she was her best friend in Philly, they didn't always get to see each other. Not to mention her best friends from back home having their own lives. Thinking about the hectic two weeks she had been through with her two little monsters, Rory thought she should call Lane and ask about those two little monsters.

The only break she had gotten recently was when Cam came by to meet Lena. She had squealed the same as when Lola was a few weeks old, and Lola liked having an extra person to pay attention to her. When Lena let out a shrill cry, Cam realized what Jess meant when he had said Rory needed help at home. She had thought they were over exaggerating, but she had only taken care of Lola; usually, for one evening every week. She had no clue what it was like at the Gilmore-Mariano apartment on a quiet day (which wasn't all that quiet).

Most days now, Jess didn't come home to his girlfriend crying the bathtub, so they were calling this week a success. She had had a mini meltdown when Lorelai began packing her stuff the day before she was set to leave, but Rory got over it quickly when one of the girls started crying. When Rory had run from the room, Lorelai turned to Jess.

"I think I'm starting to like you now," She joked, and walked over to her daughter's boyfriend. He shrugged his shoulders, a smirk gracing his features. "Thanks for being there for her when Logan wasn't, and thanks for getting us to talk to each other again for the second time. Now, you be good to my daughter and grandbabies, and make sure there are no more till Lena is at least a year old. I don't need to have Rory crying on the phone because you guys got another one that's crying and waking up the girls, and then there's three." She hugged him which felt odd, but good because they were finally on decent terms.

"You're a godsend, so you're welcome here any time." He offered, partly to be nice and partly because he was not ready to see her leave either. Never in his life did Jess think he would be sad to see Lorelai going. Though, he was a bit happy to have his girlfriend back to himself instead of having to share her with her mother. It didn't matter that he still had to share her with their daughters, Lorelai was one off the list.

"Hey, when are going to pop the question?" She asked him, sending the young writer for a loop.

"Lorelai, we got back together three months ago." He could not believe he was having this conversation with his girlfriend's mother. Said mother nodded, though her face was still etched with confusion.

"Well, yeah, but I've seen the way you guys look at each other. That only comes around once in a lifetime, my friend." Nothing else could be said because Rory came rushing back in with the babies to say goodbye. Jess dodged a bullet by not fully answering that question. However, he thought that Lorelai might be right when he could practically feel the love radiating from Rory's gaze.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Hi guys! So I am trying to get over this writer's block, but I've been so busy lately and the ideas just ain't flowing like they used to. I've had so many ideas for other stories I'm unsure of what to write. Anyway, this is a shorter chapter, but I hope you guys still like it just the same. Also, thanks for all the reviews last week that have now boosted me up past 100 reviews! This is my most reviewed story, so I thank you all for that! Happy reading, happy reviewing, happy Monday!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

"Lola, are you excited to go to work with Daddy?" Jess cooed at the blonde six-month-old. She gladly wiggled in her spot on the floor, and she held up a block. Jess smiled, and took it to make her happy. She was scooting on her butt most days, and her movements indicated she would attempt crawling soon. She was growing up way too fast, but at least the adults had Lena to be small. "Rory, you ready?" He called into the bathroom where she was working on putting makeup over her dark circles under her eyes.

Lena had been with them two weeks, meaning she was nearing three weeks old. They still were unsure of her actual birthday, but they were trying to get her birth certificate. The three-week-old was still not sleeping, and it would then wake up the Lola, and then it would mean that there was no rest for the parents. Rory had been taking the hardest toll. At least, Jess could go to work; she was always with their babies. Not like she would change it. Being a mom had never really been that high on her list, but after Lola was born, and Lena was dropped on their doorstep, she wouldn't give up motherhood.

Hopefully, going to Truncheon that morning would alleviate some stress when Cam insisted on spending all the time with the babies. It would give Rory the time she needed to take a long overdue nap on the couch or in one of the beds upstairs. Lola's seat was already in the car, and she was glad to spend her times in her dad's arms. Especially, since the past few weeks the attention had been focused on Lena.

They really hated doing it, but Rory and Jess were giving a bit more attention to the new baby. It was mostly because they were able to place Lola in front of a few building blocks, and she could entertain herself while Lena still needed the undivided attention of her parents. When the attention fell back onto the older baby, she would bask in it. Not like she knew how to bask in the limelight, but she did it well. Soon, she would have all the attention from her Aunty Cam and Uncles Matt and Chris. Rory was excited thinking about the nap she would have later that day.

She stepped out of the bathroom with Lena dressed in Lola's hand-me-down book onesie. The newborn was propped up against her chest, and she couldn't help but think back the past few months when Lola was this small. She hadn't realized how big her daughter had gotten until she held Lena for the first time. Lola no longer needed Rory's chest or stomach to be supported; she could sit up and hold her head all by herself. Lena, though, was the cuddliest baby. Even more so than Lola was which was saying something.

Jess came around, still holding Lola (she was getting clingy, and would latch on to whoever picked her up), and handed over the baby carrier. Rory thankfully grabbed it and smiled at him before placing Lena inside. That made carrying her around easier. "Now, are we ready to go?" He asked, but the question was directed at the babies. Lola squealed like she did to anything anyone said to her in a baby voice.

"Your baby's a pig." She deadpanned, a simple explanation as to why it was taking forever to get out the door. Also, it was a killer _Full House_ reference, a win-win. He nodded along, pretending to be concerned with her joke. He pressed a long kiss to her temple as they stepped into the elevator, and she sighed contentedly.

Jess chuckled as he looked over at Rory when they reached Truncheon. She had somehow fallen asleep incredibly fast in the short drive to the publishing house. He nudged her slightly, and she groaned as her eyes adjusted to the sun. She had been learning how to sleep in five to ten minute intervals, but it was never enough. Her arms felt like jelly when she reached in to pull Lola from the car. "Bah!" The blonde baby exclaimed, and she tugged lightly on her mother's hair. Rory was too tired to do anything about it. Instead, she just walked, head lowered, into the building.

Cam greeted them cheerfully at the front door, and she eagerly took Lola off to go play. Rory sunk down into one of the chairs behind a random desk. Her forehead was supported by her slipping palm, and she tried to stay awake. She was losing the battle. Jess came waltzing in, and he groaned as Lena let out a loud cry. Immediately, Rory jumped up, prepared to take care of whichever baby that was crying. Jess took another step nearer, but he didn't allow her to get her hands on the youngest girl.

He counted silently with his fingers down from three. As soon as his last finger was down, Lena stopped crying. The woman in front of his hadn't the slightest idea how he did or knew that, but she wasn't going to pretend she didn't like that trick. He placed Lena's car seat on the desk, and pointed for Matthew to keep an eye on their youngest. Jess led Rory up the stairs where Cam was playing with Lola on the floor.

"Goodnight," The writer waved to his friend. In her deliriously tired state, Rory too waved to her best friend in Philadelphia.

"'Night," She mumbled before being dragged into one of the unused bedrooms. She was plopped down onto the queen-sized mattress, and before she knew what was happening, Rory felt her eyelids growing heavier. She tried, more like failed, to get underneath the duvet of whoever's bed she was currently trying to sleep in. She could feel Jess come around and throw back the comforter for her, and she hummed when she fell back against the pillows. He got in beside her, and she felt his arms go around her waist.

She slept peacefully and longer than twenty minutes for the first time in two weeks.

 **XXX**

"Now I know why you're never tired," Rory said upon waking up. Jess was still half-asleep as he listened to her ramblings about him holding out on her. They stayed in the spooning position for a good twenty minutes longer. It felt good to finally have a decent amount of relaxing time. Maybe they should restart date night if it meant Cam would babysit for them; automatically entailing more than ten minute intervals of sleep.

"Oh, believe me, I'm tired. I just do a better job of hiding it," He smirked when she yawned. "And a better way of getting rid of it." He placed a sweet kiss on her cheek, and her arms tightened around him. Slowly, they rose to go see why they hadn't been summoned in four hours. It was rather suspicious considering that Chris would automatically go searching for them if Cam or Matt ever got distracted. It was surprising that Matt would be better with kids than Chris, but it was what it was.

The Rory shielded her eyes against the midday sun streaming in through the wide open windows. She burrowed her face into Jess's shoulder, refusing to adjust to the light that quickly. Eventually, her eyes did what they were supposed to, and she could see more than a foot ahead of herself. The first thing Rory saw was Cam and Matthew lying on the floor playing with the girls. Cam held Lena up against her chest, and Lola was busy throwing toys Matt's way. He somehow couldn't dodge the horrible aim of the six-month old.

Lola continued to giggle, but her smile brightened when she saw her parents. Jess moved to sit behind her, and she giggled even louder. "Ah!" She squealed when he pulled her into his lap and blew raspberries on her cheek. Rory watched fondly, finally able to enjoy the happy moments with the girls since she wasn't as sleep deprived as before. She moved to relieve Cam, and she beamed when Lena snuggled closer to her chest.

The other adults ran from the scene, understanding a little bit of what their friends had been going through. The four continued to play together, and they had missed the scrambling of Matt and Cam. Jess met Rory's eyes, and they shared a smile. This was the first time that Rory had felt good (body-wise, she wasn't used to not being exhausted all the time. That four hour nap really worked) in three weeks. Though, holding Lena so close and watching Lola with Jess made the sleep deprivation a bit more worth it.

"Hey," Jess broke through her thoughts. Rory looked up at him, and she could practically feel the love oozing from his gaze. "I love you." The way he said it (he was saying that all the time now, mostly since they had established it between the two of them) sent a tingling throughout her whole body. She leaned in to place her lips against his for a moment before Lola gurgled and practically pushed them apart. The silence returned, but it was a comfortable one. Just them, a little family playing with blocks and plushies. It was perfect.

It still was, even when he said something completely not like himself, "Do you ever think about getting married?" Her heart stopped. He, Jess Mariano, was talking about marriage. He, the most scared of commitment, was talking about having the longest commitment ever known. She wondered where he had possibly gotten the idea.

"Jess," Her word was drawn out, and she sounded somewhat sad. His expression changed quickly, and Rory felt horrible. "We're, we're in our early twenties. Aren't we a bit young? I mean we _just_ got back together."

Jess shook his head quickly. "So, you don't think we're too young?" Rory kept jumping to conclusions before he had a chance to speak his mind on the subject. "I mean come on, the whole reason I turned down Logan was because we were way too young. You know that. Why would you ask me to marry you if you knew that? And who's to say it would work out, I mean my mom and Luke were like ten years in the making, and see where they are. My mom married my dad, divorced before they even really started. Not to mention how I tore up someone's marriage, and oddly enough your mom is the only one whose marriage is seeming ok. From what you've told me, that's just messed up. Even my grandparents had that horrible patch because of something my dead great-grandmother said. Marriage doesn't work out for anyone!"

Jess listened intently, forgetting to even mention his side of the conversation. He just listened to her talk about how crappy getting married was, and he had to admit that she had a point. He just never saw Rory as the type to feel so against marriage. Wow, they had used that word a lot in the last five minutes. She continued to rant and ramble about how it was a bad idea, and she offhandedly commented how it was especially bad for them. He would have felt a bit hurt by that statement if he didn't know their track record. When her hand gestures and arm movements got too much, he stepped in with his side of things.

"Babe, I'm not saying we go out and get married tomorrow. I'm not even saying we get married at all. I was just wondering what your thoughts on it all were. I can see now that you are very much against getting married ever, and we can continue to live in sin if you want." The smirk that crossed his face caused her to realize he wasn't serious, and now she felt bashful on the subject. She leaned in to kiss him, a blush still covering her cheeks.

"Well, I'm not against getting married ever…" She continued. Jess's attention was back on her after he had shifted to Lola. "I mean when we're like thirty or something." She played with the little hairs on Lena's head, refusing to meet his eyes.

"When we're thirty, I'll marry you, Rory Gilmore." He assured her, trying to capture her gaze. She looked like she was mulling it over in her mind.

"Maybe twenty-nine," She admitted and smiled at Lena, still not meeting his stare. He nodded, and didn't say anything when she looked like she might continue. "Or twenty-eight, maybe twenty-seven. Just not before we're twenty-five." Jess loved the way she kept back tracking because all that she had really said about marriage was just a spur of the moment thought.

"Rory Gilmore, when you turn twenty-five, I will marry you." Her smile was enough to make him want to marry her right then and there. She nodded, beaming down at him and their daughters. "Did we just get engaged?" He asked, unsure what she took away from that little conversation they just had. She nodded happily.

"I guess you could say that," She was happy to say it. After Logan, Rory never thought she would ever think about marriage. Now here she was, accepting Jess's odd proposal for them to get married in two years. Minutes after stating all the reasons that getting married was horrible. It was weird that as of late she had been contradicting a lot of her thoughts, but there was something about the thought of being married to Jess. She really loved him, not like the idea that she was in love with of Logan. They worked well together, they were a team, they loved each other whole heartedly. He was her soulmate, it didn't matter how cheesy that sounded.

"Cool," He nodded, and picked up Lola. "Ya hear that kid? Your mom and dad are engaged." Rory liked the sound of that.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Here's a longer one to make up for last week's short one! Ok, so I totally need to get back into writing, and it's a struggle, but this week I'm gonna push myself so that I can have some more prewritten chapters! Yay! Ok, so thank you all who reviewed last week, I am so happy with this story and how it's my most popular story! So, happy reading, happy reviewing, and happy Sunday!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Rory's weekly letter from Emily came in on a Tuesday. It did seem rather early, and reading through it she knew why. Emily's letters usually came on Thursday's, and it wouldn't normally give them enough time to answer to her wishes. Frankly, Rory couldn't believe what was being asked of them, but at the same time she could. Emily had made an effort. She didn't sound cold and distant, and she had used Jess's actual name. It seemed maybe she did really want to see them.

But reading through the letter reminded Rory that she had forgotten to tell her grandparents about Lena. She had read over and over about them wanting to meet Lola, and she thought back to the other letters and nothing had been said on their newest edition. She felt like a crappy mother in that moment. Though, it was probably best her grandmother had no idea about their younger daughter (whom Rory had been able to officially adopt like Jess had Lola. Also, she had been right in the guessing of the baby's age. She was born five days before being dropped on their doorstep).

"Jess!" Rory called into the living room where he was playing with Lola, and where Lena was napping. He rushed into the kitchen, fearing the worst, but was relieved to just see his fiancée reading her letter from her grandmother. Though, he was a bit more worried when she began waving the pieces of paper in front of him without explanation.

"Woah, Ror, calm down." He came to her side, and tried to keep her arms down. "What'd she say? Logan dropping by again?" He knew it wasn't a joking matter, but he thought maybe he could rid the tension from her shoulders with a slight back rub and a joke. Her face found its way to her hands, and she mumbled something about that not being funny.

Finally, she resurfaced, muttering about him sleeping on the couch. That got him to shut up a bit. "She wants us to come up for Friday night dinner." Rory told him. The rubbing of her shoulders ceased. She turned around to try and decipher what he was thinking by the look on his face. He looked like a fish the way his mouth opened and closed multiple times unsure of what to say. She couldn't say it was a shocker that he didn't have anything to say. That was his most known characteristic in Stars Hollow.

"Huh," His trademark syllable made a reappearance. Of course, Emily Gilmore was what caused anyone to revert back to their old ways. "Ok, so we'll go. We can go tonight, and spend a few days with your mom. Maybe tell Liz about Lena, and then your mom can come with us to the dinner." He looked between her and the letter. Rory's mouth dropped open when she looked between the clock and her fiancée.

"Jess, it's five o'clock." She ran a hand through her hair, thinking about what he just said, realizing that he was totally fine with going to her grandparents' house for dinner. Jess looked down at his watch and nodded.

"Well, we better pack our bags then," He kissed her quickly before heading into their room to get his things in order. "I got the girls' things, you just worry about yourself." He came back into the kitchen, tossing her bag at her. She rolled her eyes, and followed him back to their room.

He held up his Metallica shirt—the one that Luke absolutely detested—and pouted at her. "Do you think your grandma will like how this matches my eyes?" He joked before throwing it back into his drawer. It did get her giggle a bit, and she shook her head. Thankfully, Jess did pack some nicer clothes that he would wear to work or some work event. Rory packed her nice blue dress that she bought when Luke came to town. Jess really did take care of the girls' things, and Rory was glad to know that anything they owned would immediately be Emily approved, hopefully.

It surprised her how quickly they got everything together, and they were on the road before she had even called to tell her mom they were on the way. Lorelai had been excited, and would have Rory's childhood room set up before they got there. She threw in a quip about getting them a room at the inn which sounded like heaven so they could sleep, but her mom suggested a few things that hadn't been on either of their minds lately. It was now on their minds.

"Can we stop and get coffee?" Rory pleaded for the fifth time that hour when she saw the plaza sign coming up in a few miles. It was nearing nine, and they were so close to Stars Hollow, but Jess was starting to feel the effects of sleep deprivation and exhaustion from work that day. He agreed, and tried to block out the little squeal that Rory elicited. It woke up Lola, and now they had a legitimate reason to pull over.

They walked in, and Rory sprinted to the Starbucks that was the first thing she saw. She had Lola in the Baby Björn, and Jess was quick to come up behind her with Lena still sleeping in her car seat. It amazed them at how the girls had transitioned from waking each other up to sleeping through the others cries. Rory rambled off some long and complicated drink, and the barista seemed relieved when Jess asked for just a black coffee. They stepped to the side and waited for their drinks to be made. Jess's came a lot earlier, and Rory begged him for a few sips to tide her over until her coffee (if it could even be called that) was ready.

He allowed her to take his cup after a few seconds of bickering, and the other baristas awed at them. When they called out Rory's name, she nearly jumped on the man who made her drink. "Sweet mana from heaven, I love you!" She pressed a kiss to the side of her cup before taking a sip. Jess scoffed at her dramatics.

"More than me?" He asked, knowing the answer. She nodded her head enthusiastically. Maybe he didn't know the answer. "Harsh. Come on. We need to get to your mom's." He led them towards the entrance, but was stopped when she turned around.

"Gotta change the girls' diapers one last time, don't want to be like five minutes away and they're screaming in the backseat." She explained before walking off to the bathrooms with both girls. He wasn't going to stop her since he most definitely didn't need their daughters crying at incredibly high pitches.

She returned, and handed him a bottle. "If we feed them now, they'll fall asleep." She told him like he didn't already know that. Stars Hollow was thirty minutes away; he didn't know why she would be stalling. Although, he took the bottle and Lena from her seat, and did as she wanted.

"Ror, what's wrong?" He asked as Lena was falling asleep in his arms. Rory looked up startled. Lola let out a yawn, and she looked between their two babies.

"I forgot to tell Grandma about Lena," She admitted. Jess held back a chuckle as he rubbed his hand over said baby's head. "Jess, it's not funny. I forgot to tell my grandmother that we have another daughter, she's gonna be beyond pissed. I mean, she was mad when I had Lola out of wedlock, but then you have a baby, and I adopted her. And we forgot to tell her about it. It's just gonna be a mess."

"At least we have a few days to figure out what to tell her." He smiled. It did cause her to do the same, and they were able to leave without any more stalling on Rory's part.

 **XXX**

Rory could not believe her mother wasn't coming with them to this dinner. She had said something about Luke and how they were working out their rekindled relationship (Rory had screamed finally, and woke up both the babies when they got to her mom's house, but no one cared because her mom and Luke were finally back together), but it didn't help that her mother wasn't going to be by her side for the first time she had seen her grandparents in a year. While Lorelai's falling out with her had happened a month before she was due, her grandparents had stopped talking to her when she turned down Logan's proposal.

Jess drew her in close, his arm going around her waist. She placed her head on his shoulder for a moment before ringing the doorbell. She heard shuffling on the other side of the door, and her grandmother shouting at the maid for trying to get the door. An odd thing to hear at the Gilmore house. The door flew open, and Emily yelled, "Richard, they're here!" But her smile dropped when she took in the extra baby carrier.

"Richard, there's two of them!" She shouted behind herself, no room for Rory to explain. Richard came up to the door, a disbelieving look on his face.

"Emily, of course there's two of them. It's Rory and her gentleman friend," He explained, and Jess held back a snicker. He was not used to being called a gentleman friend; he hadn't even thought he would be referred to in any term associated with Rory at all that evening. Although, Richard's good nature also fell through when he saw what his wife saw. "There's two of them." He stage-whispered.

"That's what I just said!" Emily exclaimed, and turned from the door into the foyer. Everyone followed her, unsure of could possibly happen next. She then led them to the living room for drinks like it was any normal Friday night dinner. Richard stood by the cart, and Emily haughtily sat down on one of the couches.

"Jess, do you drink?" Richard asked, bringing the attention away from the angry woman on the couch. Jess looked to Rory, wondering if it was safe to answer yes. She nodded small enough that no one else caught it.

"Uh, whiskey. Neat, please?" He sounded unsure, but only Rory noticed. She giggled as she pulled Lena from her carrier, and Jess reached down for Lola.

"Rory?" Her grandfather asked. Rory forgot that she drank it had been so long.

"Wine, thanks." She eagerly took the drink that was prepared for her. She sipped slowly, hoping to not look like a horrible mother, and hoping to not look like she was nervous. Her grandfather sat across from them, a forced smile on his lips. Emily didn't even try to show any emotion besides annoyed.

"So, Jess. Rory tells us that you're a writer?" At least Richard was attempting to be nice. Jess nodded, bouncing Lola. She giggled and the attention was brought to the babies before Jess could say anything about his job. Emily even smiled when she heard her great-granddaughter giggle. Her eyes darkened when she saw the way that Jess lovingly kissed the child's head; she knew about Jess adopting her great-grandchild, but she didn't have to like it. Emily still wished Rory had accepted Logan's proposal and hadn't asked for Jess to be the father of her child.

"My, she really is adorable," Emily marveled, her lips turning up again as the baby smiled at her. The parents beamed at their daughter; Rory especially glad that her grandparents were warming up to the thought of Lola and, hopefully, Lena. "How old is she again?"

Rory looked at Jess, wondering if he wanted to gloat about their daughter, or if she should do it. He looked at her unsure if he really wanted to talk to her grandparents much, so it was her turn. "She's seven months, and Lena is just about a month now." She held up the other baby, and spoke in the baby voice. Lena smiled at her, and even Emily couldn't be angry at the adorable faces of the infants.

"Now explain, Lena, was it? Explain Lena to us." In came the possibly angry Grandma. Rory had been worried about this, and she had practicing how to tell her grandparents about their second baby in the mirror all week. Jess squeezed her hand, and she felt a bit of renewed strength.

"Lena is Jess's daughter. Her mother dropped her off on our doorstep a month ago, and she's officially apart of our family. I adopted her, like Jess did for Lola, about two weeks ago. We call her Lena because its short for Carolina, and she just seemed too young for such a grown up, pretty name." Rory hoped that sounded ok enough for her grandparents. They still looked miffed.

"I didn't know about Lena. Her mother broke up with me a few months before Rory came to live with me," Jess jumped in, trying to alleviate some of the glaring. It didn't help much, but Richard easily shifted the conversation away from the strange happenings of Lena.

"Well now, Jess, tell us about your career. If you're to support our granddaughter, our great-granddaughter, and your daughter you must be a phenomenal writer." Always business with her grandfather. Rory jumped in at that moment; she knew Jess would be modest even though his work was amazing.

"Jess is an amazing writer. He published his second book, and he also works at a publishing house. I sometimes help out there—" She was cut off by Emily's stern look.

"We asked _Jess_ about his career. Now, when you have a career you can tell us about that, but you don't." Rory was taken aback, but she had to give her grandmother props for actually using Jess's name instead of 'that hooligan.' It didn't matter how coolly she said his name. Jess squeezed her hand, a way to say it was ok, and he was happy that she had at least tried. They refrained from sharing a quick kiss because it probably wouldn't look good in front of the grandparents.

"Well, I have written a few books. Neither could be considered as good as _The Road_ or _The Great Gatsby_ , but they are doing well. I, um, actually my most recent book has just reached number one of _The New York Times_ bestseller list…" When he said that, Rory squealed and kissed him. Emily and Richard gaped at them. Partially because he topped the bestseller list, and partially because he had just kissed their granddaughter in front of them.

"And I do run a publishing house called Truncheon Books. I run it with three of our friends, and Rory occasionally helps out there. We do pretty good, and don't worry I have a very good amount to support your granddaughter." He ended a bit smugly. Richard smiled brightly, being won over by the writer in question. Emily still seemed a bit wary, this was still the boy who had shown up to dinner four years previous with a black eye and an attitude.

Although, before anything else could be said, Lena let out a squall. Both parents perked up to take care of the baby. Rory pulled her up close to her face, murmuring unintelligible things. Lena still protested, and Rory pulled out a bottle. She stood up without saying anything, and rushed into the kitchen. There was a beep from the microwave, and then silence when Lena took to her bottle. She walked back in, smiling softly at Jess when she sat down.

"She'll be out in like five," Rory explained to her grandparents who watched them curiously. Then, Lola let out a mew of annoyance of her own. Rory swore under her breath, and watched Jess stand up to keep their older child from waking the younger. He moved around the room, pointing at things, pretending that his fiancée's grandparents weren't watching his every move. Lola still cried.

They didn't know what was the issue. She had been fed and changed just before leaving for Hartford, and there wasn't a foul smell coming from anywhere on the baby. Jess kept bouncing, but Lola refused to calm down. Eventually, Jess went to his last resort. He pressed Lola's head down, so that she was laying against his chest, and started to hum. Lola didn't want to stop whimpering.

"Daddy loves Lola so so much. Daddy loves Lola so so much…" He sang, forgetting that anyone was watching him. He was used to Rory seeing this side of him (she never let him forget how much of a softy he had turned into since becoming a father), but he didn't like the thought of other people knowing he was like that.

Emily marveled at the reformed hoodlum. He had calmed the child down so easily, and he obviously loved Rory from the looks she had seen the two exchange. He must have changed a great deal since the last time she had seen him. Eventually, he walked out of their sight, and Rory beamed at her grandparents.

"She's a Daddy's girl," She smiled then looked down at Lena who was finished drinking her bottle. "I think Lena's gonna be a Mama's girl, but time will tell. Jess might be able to get to her yet." The look of sheer happiness and bliss proved that maybe she had made the right decision with turning down Logan. She was happy with Jess, and they had to accept that fact.

Jess walked back in, Lola now asleep. He placed her in her carrier, and pressed a light kiss to Rory's cheek. "I hope you don't mind, Mr. Gilmore, but I stepped into your office to calm down Lola. She liked the painting of Rory." That caused his fiancée to blush profusely. Richard waved his hand in a dismissive way.

"Of course, of course! Rory herself liked it in there when she was a baby. And please, call me Richard." They were moving somewhere, her grandfather liked him. Next, they needed the approval of Emily. It seemed close behind the way she was now hinting at a smile. At that moment, the maid tiptoed in to announce (quietly) that dinner was ready. The couples made their way into the dining room while the babies slept in their carriers.

The shining moment when Emily Gilmore would finally begin to like Jess Mariano was during dinner. They had been having pleasant conversations, the elder of the Gilmore women refusing to say much. It worried Rory, but at the same time relieved her. She had feared what her grandmother would have to say about her relationship with Jess; especially with the whole Lena situation. Thankfully, Richard had easily warmed up to Jess; it made some things less scary on Rory's part. At least she had her grandfather's approval. That was what mattered most to her in the world.

"Now, what are your intentions?" Emily finally spoke. Rory's head shot up, and Jess stared at her worriedly. They both turned to the stern woman who glowered at them. "What are your intentions? You have children together, you live together. In sin, no doubt. What are your intentions?" Rory started coughing when she mentioned the in sin part. Jess tried to hide his smirk, and it eventually fell when Emily glared at him.

"Uh," Jess coughed and started knowing that Emily would probably smite Rory for talking out of turn again. Also, the question had obviously been directed at him. "Well, um, a week ago?" He looked to Rory for correction, she nodded and smiled. "We're technically engaged. The date isn't going to be for another two years, but it's pretty permanent." Emily nearly choked on her water, and Richard smiled brightly at them.

"You'll accept this hoodlum's proposal, but you won't accept _Logan Huntzberger's_?" Her grandmother sounded angry. Rory had thought this would be something that she would like. She was getting married, to someone who loved her and her daughter; she wasn't pulling a Lorelai and going it alone. It had always been that parents should get married; now, Rory was doing that and the approval was gone.

"Grandma, I didn't love Logan. I loved the idea of him, or maybe I did love him, but that was a long time ago. I love Jess, and I wouldn't have accepted his proposal if I didn't. Isn't this what you always wanted, me to get married? Well, I'm doing it, and you're mad. Logan didn't want anything to do with me or Lola when I turned down his proposal, and Jess has been there beside me since Lola was born. I agreed to marry him because it wasn't for a couple years. I am much too young to be married now, but if we're engaged for a few years and living together, we'll be prepared for the rest of what comes for marriage. If you can't accept that then I'm sorry, and we're leaving." She threw down her fork, and stood up from the table. Gesturing for Jess to follow, Rory led the way to the sitting room where the girls slept. She had tears in her eyes thinking about how she thought she could patch up her relationship with her grandmother.

She turned around when her fiancé tugged lightly at her arm. Rory spun and was met with Jess's chest. He held her in his arms for a few seconds, and she started to cry. Nothing major (she didn't want her grandma to know that she was upset) just a few whimpers and tears. The writer's hand ran through her hair, and she seemed to quiet some. "It's ok," He whispered in her ear. She shuddered lightly and wrapped her arms tighter around him.

"I love you," She murmured meeting his eyes. He nodded cockily and placed a slow kiss on her lips. He then brushed away her tears with his thumb, and she laid her head back against his chest. Emily and Richard could be heard bickering in the background. "I really love you." She said a bit louder, not realizing that her grandparents had walked back into the sitting room.

"I really love you, too." He smiled and kissed her again.

Emily's thoughts began to change when she saw the way they interacted. So innocently sweet and loving. She obviously had noticed the way he was with her great-granddaughter earlier, and Rory was absolutely captivated with his daughter. They were an adorable family, and Rory had been right in the fact that they were getting married. This was the happiest she had seen her granddaughter in a long time. There was a spark in her eyes that twinkled whenever she looked at the man in front of her. Emily only wished she had been better those few minutes ago in the dining room.

They broke apart when Rory noticed her grandparents standing behind them. Richard looked at Emily in a way that a parent would look at their child who hadn't apologized. Emily studied the couple once more, finally coming to terms with their relationship.

"I'm sorry," She got out. It seemed like a difficulty, but she said it. "You're right. And I am proud of you for finding someone who loves you as much as you love him. I will admit that I never really liked Logan, but his family was powerful," She then turned to Jess who waited patiently. "And Jess, I am sorry for the way that I judged you this evening and four years ago. You've done wonders for my granddaughter and great-granddaughter, so you are indeed a fine young man."

For the first time that evening, Rory got up to hug her grandmother when she announced her approval of Jess. Emily gladly reciprocated, and all was well with the world. Rory was finally making amends with all of her family that she had struggled with during her pregnancy. It was perfect, and she couldn't have done it without the love and support of Jess. She caught his eye, and knew that he was happy for her. She broke apart from her grandmother's side, and once again found herself wrapped up in his arms. Her most favorite spot to be.

Emily and Richard watched with awe at the two of them. They were so much in love, it would normally be sickening. But they were ecstatic to see their granddaughter so happy with Jess. At least Emily had finally come around to the thought of the hoodlum. Richard hadn't had to even think about accepting Jess, the upright man who brought back their granddaughter.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Hey guys! This is the last of my prewritten chapters, so I'll be working on that, but if I don't have another chapter out next week don't worry. I'm working on it; I have an idea I'm just unsure on how to execute it. So yeah. That's about all I have to say except for look out for a new one shot I'm writing. It's a sequel to Seeing the Light, so it's post-revival literati with the awesomeness that is Reilly (Gilmore) Mariano and some adorable married!lit. Anyway, happy reading, happy reviewing, happy Saturday!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

As of late Rory had felt like their walls were closing in on them. She didn't know what it was, but their apartment kept feeling smaller and smaller with every passing day. Maybe it was because the babies were growing. At seven months, Lola was showing the beginning signs of crawling, and their place was just so small it worried her mother. Lena was not doing much as she was only a month old, but she was still growing like Lola had at that age, and once again Rory was feeling overwhelmed. Less with the two girls, but more with the size of their place.

She hadn't thought of bringing it up at all until Lola officially started crawling. It had taken Rory by surprise (more like she hadn't wanted to think about her daughter growing up so quickly) when they were in the living room right before dinner. Jess had walked in the door, and Lola made her way over to her daddy. The adults' eyes widened, and they stared at each other in disbelief. Rory jumped up with Lena still in her arms, and Jess bent down to grab Lola. There had been a celebration that night, but the next day it worried the mother.

She now looked all around her preparing for the worst. There were things everywhere, and the apartment wasn't exactly baby proof. Just safer than a place without babies. The size was small causing many things to not have a place hidden away from the girls. Now with a crawling baby, things had to have a place. They couldn't have a specific area if there wasn't any space.

In the next few days, Rory was finding herself watching HGTV and looking up houses in the area. Always hiding though as soon as Jess came in to the room. Rory hadn't a good idea on how to broach the subject with Jess. Until he offhandedly mentioned the lease was almost up, and he wondered if she wanted to be added to the papers. Her head shot up from her dinner and the pro/con list she was creating on whether to talk to Jess about their need to move.

She looked at him confusedly, wondering if he knew what she had been thinking when mentioning the end of the lease. "I was hoping to talk to you about that," Rory started, finally gaining the confidence needed. "I was thinking that maybe we should move to a bigger place. Like a house or something. I mean the girls are getting bigger, and I just keep getting so worried with Lola crawling now. And before we know it Lena's gonna be crawling too, and Lola will be walking. And I just have felt so constricted lately. And I know this is your place and completely your decision. I was just hoping you would be open to the thought of moving to someplace bigger."

She rambled for a while on all the reasons it would be best for them to move to a bigger house. He listened intently, nodding along with every point she made. He had been wanting to ask her about that subject too. He thought that they should move to at least a bigger apartment so that the girls could have their own rooms, hopefully helping the sleeping schedules of the very different babies. "I've been thinking the same thing." He interrupted her. Rory stopped talking, surprised that he had been so open to the idea considering his uncle was Luke 'I don't like change' Danes.

"Oh, um, I expected a bit more of a discussion…" She chuckled lightly and fed a spoonful of baby food to Lola. It ended up on her face instead of in her mouth, and Jess passed over a napkin. Rory took it gratefully, cooing at the baby.

"No, I've thought exactly what you're thinking. Maybe more of a bigger apartment, but if you want a house, we'll get a house." He smiled. Rory refrained from jumping over the table to kiss him because she really wanted a house. They shared cute smiles, and Jess knew he had just gotten lucky with that statement.

"I've been, um, looking," She chuckled unsure of how to tell him about her whole searching for a house online. "Online. Like on realtor websites and such. I could show you some, and we could maybe contact one of the realtors tomorrow." She saw the way he smiled at her, like she was the only thing in the world. She liked that she could make him that happy. He nodded, wanting to know what she had come up with for them. He liked the thought of them moving into a house together; a place that was theirs not just his that she had moved into.

"Let's get the girls to bed, and then we'll have the whole night to look." He took away her plate along with his. She hugged him from behind, and both turned when Lola gurgled. They beamed at their daughter, and then made funny faces at Lena who was staring at them from her carrier. He snaked his arm around her waist to pull her closer. Jess pressed a kiss to Rory's hair, and she leaned in to his chest, reveling in the feeling of home.

Then she moved to finish the girls' nightly routine. It was their thing. Rory taking the girls away, and Jess doing the dishes. It was something they had been doing since she first moved in. Odd to think that soon they might be moving into another place, making new memories, watching the girls grow up, possibly expanding, hosting things because they would finally have the space. Moving excited her to no end, it was the perfect thing to further their relationship.

Rory smiled as Lola easily fell asleep in her crib (they had finally gotten around to getting that second crib they needed. So much had happened that they were always getting baby things too late). Then she cuddled with Lena who was still a bit awake. The brown-haired baby smiled up at her adoptive mother, and Rory was so glad to have these nights with her. She loved having another small human around, it didn't scare her so much anymore about there being two. The way that Lena snuggled into her chest and grinned her gummy smile, made having two daughters so much better. Not to mention the girls would hopefully be thick as thieves one day, and already they were being acquainted with other children around their ages (Rory had read it in a parenting book, and she had not liked the idea of possibly taking Lola to day care. Having Lena made the whole mingling thing easier).

"Mama loves you," She whispered to the one month old. Lena was soundly sleeping on her shoulder as she oscillated around the room. She gently laid her in her own crib. She then moved over to Lola's crib, and placed her hand on her precious daughter's forehead. "Mama loves you, too." She dropped loving kisses on their heads. Rory was so engrossed in watching her daughters sleep that she didn't hear Jess make his way into the room.

"Daddy loves you," He moved between the two of them. "Just as much as Mama." He pulled in his fiancée. She looped her arms around him, allowing them to be closer. They slowly moved out the door as quietly as possible. The door shut softly, and they stumbled into their room. Needless to say, there wasn't much house searching that night.

 **XXX**

"Come on, Babe," Jess shouted into their room. "We're gonna be late to meet with that realtor." It had been a week since their talk about moving, and it was finally becoming a reality. The lease wasn't up for another month or two, so they had the time to look and move. They just needed to find the place, a house, for them to move into. Thankfully, Rory came out a few seconds later still messing with her hair. "You can't fix perfection." He smirked and picked up Lola.

Rory giggled lightly; Jess was becoming so corny lately, but it was kind of cute. They stepped outside the building, and Rory refrained from bouncing in her excitement. They were going house hunting! She knew it was not likely that they would find the perfect house on the first day, let alone at all, but it was still exciting that they were buying a house together. It was also comforting to know that they could afford one with all of the money being brought in from Jess's book being a New York Times bestseller.

After dropping off the girls with Cam, they drove to the first site where the realtor was already waiting for them. The outside of the house was definitely nice, but a little run down. Rory was a bit discouraged this being their first home to look at, but she kept reminding herself that she had to keep an open mind about where they looked. This could be the best one they saw all day.

"Hi, I'm Lindsey Bates, we spoke on the phone." Lindsey introduced herself, and Rory's mouth suddenly tasted sour when she was reminded of Lindsay Lister whose marriage she had destroyed. This new Lindsey seemed nice enough, and she was perky yet reserved. She led them to the front door which was a bit warn, but in a homey sort of way. Not the original impression Rory had had of the exterior.

"This here is a three bedroom, two and a half bathroom, two story home. The owners were…" The rest of the information was unheard. They had decided they wanted a fourth bathroom for guests and such, or (in the very back of Rory's mind) another bedroom for possibly another baby. That was well off, but she didn't want them to have to move again or have the girls continue to share a room as they grew older. She knew it was normal, but they could afford to have another bedroom as long as they needed it.

Although it was a no-go, the quant house was nice on the inside. Despite its amount of rooms, it was rather small, and the master bedroom was the smaller than their current one. Another reason why it was a no. They weren't even halfway through and Lindsey could tell from the decently hidden expressions that this house would not be bought by the couple in front of her.

"What other things were you possibly thinking?" The realtor asked the younger adults in front of her. They shared a look, trying to put it nicely and not sound snotty. Jess's hand found the back of his neck as he rubbed at it nervously, and Rory scratched at her wrist.

"We really liked the back yard in this one, but it was just really small. Our daughters are getting bigger by the second, and while we need a nice backyard like that one, we were hoping for four bedrooms and a bit more space for them to grow." The blue-eyed woman explained while her fiancé nodded along. Lindsey understood completely, glad to know a bit more of what they wanted. They had shared a little information, but this was good to get the details.

The second house was bigger and nicer on the outside. A gorgeous shade of blue-grey that caused Rory to smile. It had a large yard in the front and beautiful landscaping. "This is about 2600 square feet, a very good size for your children to grow in." The door was a nice dark wood that contrasted well with the color of the exterior. The first thing that they noticed upon entering was the gorgeous hard wood floors in the foyer, and an adorable little library/office off to the right of the front door.

The living room was a perfect size for entertaining their small amount of friends, and Rory's heart nearly stopped when they stepped into the kitchen. The granite countertops were the best thing that Rory had ever seen, and the stainless-steel appliances were practically perfect. "The owners just did a whole lot of renovating throughout the entire house, so you're getting the absolute best." Lindsey explained, as she stepped over to the kitchen table.

Looking at the wide-open spaces, it was easy to imagine them living here. Rory could already see Lola's first birthday party in this kitchen. She could even see a few years down the road with the girls running around another highchair at the table. She could see the girls and whoever else came along doing their homework at the bar top island. She could see herself cooking with Jess helping. This kitchen was good enough that she didn't think they would need to see anywhere else in the house. "Jess, this kitchen is gorgeous!" She squealed quietly, shaking his arm a bit. Jess nodded in agreement, he too could see them cooking together in this large, open space.

The backyard was just as gorgeous, they noticed when they looked through the window. It already had a swing-set along with a nice deck. Easy space for summer entertaining. Lena's birthdays could be outside, maybe add a trampoline if that's what they really wanted. It was large, perfect for playing tag or another game that the girls would hopefully come up with in their later years. Maybe good for tossing a ball if it ever came to that.

The upstairs was nice as well. Good sized rooms and enough to give the girls their own. The master bedroom was bigger than the two bedrooms at their apartment combined. It had perfect space to add bookshelves that would house the large collection of books they shared. The bedrooms were decently close together making late night rushing easier. Already, Rory wanted this house. She felt like this could be the perfect house; they could both imagine their lives in it. However, she knew they had to look at the other houses just in case there was a better one, or someone had already put in an offer.

Standing outside, they both stared at the house one last time. Lindsey came up beside them, "This house has a starting price of $289,000. And if I remember correct, you didn't want to go too much above $315,000?" The couple nodded, Rory even more excited with the price. It was the most perfect house, with the most perfect price. "Now, we have two other places I want to show you…" They headed back to the cars, and made their way to the other houses.

The third and fourth houses were both nice, had great sizes, had nice kitchens and backyards, but Rory and Jess just could not stop thinking about that second house they had seen. It was perfectly perfect in every way, and all though the other houses were nice, they weren't that second house. They were talking about it all the way through dinner, and Rory was telling Jess about all her visions about the future there. He had smiled brightly, and responded with his thoughts on that matter.

"We'll call Lindsey in the morning about putting in an offer on that second house." He told her as the dishes were being put away. Her blue eyes brightened, and she threw her arms around his neck in happiness.

In the morning, though, they were in for a surprise. Jess had made sure to call the realtor before heading to work, that way Rory could listen in on the conversation. "Yesterday, someone else put in an offer… Although, it was rather low, and I think you two might be able to beat it. The couple put in $291,000. Do you still want to put in your offer?" Seeing Rory's hopeful expression drop made Jess slightly upset, but he silently asked her if they still wanted to put in the offer. She nodded eagerly, and he let out happy sigh before giving Lindsey the price.

"Yeah, put us down for $300,000." That was much higher than their original plan, but if they wanted this house, they needed to give a good price that was much higher than their competitors. They bid their realtor goodbye, and continued on with their days.

When Jess got home that evening, they were both on edge. Flipping out whenever the phone rang, and their happiness fading whenever the caller wasn't Lindsey. Rory had just returned from putting the girls to sleep, and Jess was so busy doing the dishes (they had had a feast in hopes of getting the house, and putting in an offer) that they almost didn't hear the phone ringing.

"Hey, yeah it's Lindsey. Just calling to say, you got the house!" The call ended shortly after her explaining the paperwork that would need to be filled out. The couple jumped up, and Rory whooped. She searched through their cabinets for ice cream and cones, and Jess smiled because she always made sure they had cones in the house.

"Wait right here," He placed her down on the counter after spinning her around in the air. He returned from the car a minute later with a bottle of champagne. "I picked it up on my way home from work, just in case." The set it off, and Rory let out an excited shout when it popped. Jess reached for the wineglasses, and they drank to their first house.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: Well, look at who's the worst! It's me, yep me. I'm horrible. It's been like a month, and it took forever for me to get where I wanted to get with this. Now, I'll have you all know it's a cliffhanger this chapter. Well, sorry to all you who have been waiting forever for this chapter, and sorry you have to wait another six days (hopefully the inspiration will keep coming) before finding out how this chapter is resolved, and sorry for how short this is. Anyway, hope y'all are enjoying Jane and enjoyed Listening With Their Hearts. I also hope you enjoy this chapter, and please review. Even if it's to tell me how much I suck for this cliffhanger and leaving you all alone for like a month. Anyway, enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

The move had been easy and fun for the adults. Luke, Lorelai, and April came down, and Truncheon was closed for the entire day, so the guys and Cam could help their friends move. The more things piled in the homier their house felt. They had a little house warming party between their friends and family, and Luke and Lorelai were able to stay the night in the extra room. April slept on one of the couches while Chris, Matt, and Cam took two blow up mattresses in the library (they could have gone home, but they had too much to drink and were too lazy).

The next day, things were taken from their boxes and furniture was put in its final resting place. With all the storage, things could easily be kept out of reach of the extremely mobile Lola. The baby had been excitedly crawling around the house, and slowly but surely coming to the standing position. When she first tried, her parents threw down what they were doing and went to go praise their daughter. It left their friends with a bit more to do, but Lola was standing up, making her ever closer to walking. Their daughter was growing up too quickly.

When everything had been taken out of the boxes (which took less time than originally thought. A lot of their things were in suitcases for the first few nights, and all the things in the boxes weren't that important besides the cooking supplies), the painting could begin. That caused Lorelai and Luke to stay a few more days because Lorelai had been planning the colors of Rory's first house since November of 2005. They took into account the girls' rooms, and Lola was left with a cute mint blue and Lena with a pale pink.

Now though, the paint fumes were getting to Rory, and she got up early one morning to go out on the deck and have some fresh air. As she looked over the green expanse that was their backyard, the blue eyed woman could imagine the girls growing up and playing there. She saw them swinging on the swing set; she saw them playing tag with their friends; she saw them playing party games for Lena's summer birthday; she saw the girls as teenagers and needing a break from the adults, so they go out to the swing set and talk. It was the perfect house with the perfect backyard.

She was drawn from her thoughts when Jess opened the door. He sat beside her on the other tacky lawn chair Lorelai had brought down. They sat in silence for a few minutes because it was the morning, and no one ever spoke in the morning. It was peaceful with the August breeze whipping at Rory's hair, the leaves rustling and a few falling a bit early, the different hues of the sun's rising rays. Jess watched her scrutinize every little detail of their yard, and she looked up at him with a smile plastered on her face.

He drew her in for a hug, and they continued to sit in the silence, wrapped in each other's embrace. The moment was perfect, and it went well with their perfect house. The moment was interrupted when Lorelai made her way to the deck, holding a now awake Lena. "Luke's doing his whole grandpa stuff on Lola, but someone wanted her parents." The elder Gilmore girl held up the baby towards the adults, and they took her gratefully. The baby smiled up at her parents, and they smiled down at her.

"We should go unpack some more," Rory murmured against Jess's shoulder. He nodded, Lena still securely wrapped in his arms. Lorelai had left them be a few minutes before, and if she had been watching them, she would have acted like the voices behind cutesy moments on sit coms or a grossed out teenager.

Stepping inside was like walking into a freshly painted wall. The smell was horrible and stiff, and Rory was surprised how the girls slept that late when they were usually finicky about that kind of thing. Thankfully, the kitchen was less fume filled because it didn't need a coat of the foul smelling stuff. That was where they started unpacking the most since it was the most used room in the house, or would be. It just had to be unpacked first.

Jess still held Lena, giving Rory the freedom to start unpacking some in the kitchen. At least this room wasn't smelling of paint, so she could bare being in here for longer than two minutes. When the paint dried in the girls' rooms, she would go in there and unpack, but right now, the smell made her nauseous. Not to mention how much she really wanted to get her kitchen unpacked because she had realized now how much she loved to cook. Especially with company over. It made it even better when Rory could show off to her mother how far she had come in the culinary world thanks to Jess.

It felt like hours, and it probably was, but no one bothered her so it was a miracle she was able to unpack one room in a single sitting. They had unpacked a majority of the things, mostly for the rooms that needed to be painted even if it was a backwards system. The kitchen as left for last, and now it was done. There were still a few boxes, but they weren't top priority and could be put into storage for later use. Their house was even more perfect now because they were all moved in. In record time too.

"We are officially all moved in!" Rory entered the living room where everyone had gathered. She sat beside Jess, and he wrapped an arm around her proudly. Lena was reaching for the plushy that Lorelai held in front of her face. Lola was attempting to stand up using the coffee table again while Luke encouraged her (never could see Luke as the encouraging babies sort). April was the only one who wasn't there because she was stuffed away in the library either helping shelve books, or reading them.

"What about the—" Lorelai began, but was cut off by her daughter.

"Nope, nope, nope. We are moved in." She demanded, and Lorelai backed down.

"Alright," Lorelai surrendered with her hands up. "You're moved in." Rory easily sank into the couch next to Jess when she heard her mother comply.

 **XXX**

There was an odd tension that had fallen over the house when Jess stepped in. He had felt on edge as he pulled in when he saw the unrecognizable car in the driveway. He feared that Logan had possibly returned, going back on his promise to leave them the hell alone. Although, when the door opened and he heard a distinctly feminine voice talking loudly, Jess relaxed easily.

He moved towards the kitchen and spied the one and only Paris Gellar sitting at the kitchen table holding a cup of coffee and practically yelling at Rory. Although, the woman being yelled at didn't seem the slightest bit worried or upset. Instead, she looked incredibly happy. She had obviously missed her best friend, and it felt normal for Paris to be shouting at her in the middle of _her_ kitchen. It was just such a Paris thing to do.

Rory stood up quickly, walking around the table to pull Paris into a tight embrace. "I've missed you, too." She beamed, and Paris relaxed. Jess stepped away from his place in the shadows after realizing that everything was perfectly fine. Bad mistake.

"Well, if it isn't the Kerouac wannabe," Paris snapped good naturedly at her best friend's fiancé. Jess smirked kindly at the unchanged woman. She was still as over the top as she was when they were teenagers. "I hope you're treating my best friend and goddaughter alright. Because if you're not, I've been working on my Krav Maga." She threatened and held a finger up. Jess looked to Rory and mouthed, 'Goddaughter.' To which she shrugged, and called off the hound.

"Good to see you, too." He tried to step around the crazy woman's wide gestures. "Why are you here?" He asked, hoping to get a rise out of the odd woman.

"You stole my best friend. It's not easy living with Doyle all the time," Paris shrugged.

"I heard that!" Another voice shouted back from somewhere in the house. Jess didn't recognize that voice, and he stared at Rory worriedly. She smiled in a knowing way, and returned to the batch of cookies she had been making before Paris had entered unannounced and berated her. The owner of the voice sauntered into the kitchen, causing Jess to flinch in surprise.

"Who the hell are you?" Jess asked, staring wide eyed at the man. Doyle looked offended and ready to respond most likely rudely. The shorter man didn't respond out of his better judgement and the leather jacket that made Jess look tougher than he was. "Is this your Thing 2?" He pointed to Doyle, but directed the question to Paris.

"Yes, this is my not much better half, Doyle. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go get some things from my car." When Paris mentioned her things, Jess looked to Rory worriedly. He didn't know how he felt about Paris staying in their house. He feared waking up with a knife to his neck. Doyle followed Paris like a love-sick puppy. When the weirdos were finally gone, Rory threw herself at Jess, kissing him hard.

"I'm glad you're home," she mumbled against his lips, and he nodded cockily.

"Yeah?" He looked between her eyes and lips. She looked at him brightly, biting her lip as she pondered something. However, the look in her eyes wasn't one Jess was accustomed to when she greeted him that way. She stared into his eyes for a long time before drawing him in for another kiss. He smiled into it, but pulled away slightly when Rory was enjoying it as much as he was. "You ok?" he asked uneasily. She nodded distractedly.

"Yeah, just something we need to talk about later. When we're alone." Before anything else could be said, Paris and Doyle returned carrying lots of luggage and wrapped packages. Jess groaned.

"Now because I am your best friend and the rightful person to be your daughter's godmother, I believe it is only right that we shouldn't have to stay in a hotel room. Did I assume correctly?" Honestly, Jess had no idea how Rory put up with this madwoman. Rory smiled tightlipped, like she was anxious about something, but nodded anyway. Paris then went into a long spiel about how horrible staying in hotels were, and Rory had to assure her that they were going to be staying in the house with them. It took a beer to officially get her to calm down. Well, that's what Jess thought after he drank the beer. He took pity on Doyle and gave him one as well.

Dinner was an odd affair when Paris and Doyle began showing off their Krav Maga moves, and knocked over a vase. Hopefully, Lena and Lola wouldn't grow up to be weirdos who did an odd form of martial arts in the kitchen. Then again, they were related to Lorelai Gilmore and Liz Danes, so that was probably a ridiculous hope. What was even more odd was the fact that Rory kept with the tightlipped expressions and comments. Something was really bothering her, and Jess wanted nothing more than to get to the bottom of it.

After the babies were put to bed and the dishes put in the washer, the adults moved to the living room. Jess offered Doyle another beer just to prove to Rory that he could get along with her incredibly bizarre friends, but he found it odd when Rory didn't offer Paris a drink or anything. "Well, they have their drinks, don't I get one?" Paris asked, standing to make her way into the kitchen. Rory snapped from her thoughts and pointed to one of the cabinets.

"Uh, there's wine glasses in that cabinet, and Chardonnay in the fridge." When Paris returned with two wine glasses, Rory threw her hands up and shook her head. "No, I, uh, I had a migraine today, and I know that alcohol won't do anything for it right now." She had Paris convinced, but not her fiancé. He watched her; her jaw clenched, and her brow furrowed. This was odd, even more odd than the time she had been afraid he only had one thing on the brain. Rory was unable to relax until Paris finally announced to Doyle that it was time for them to go to sleep.

The women hugged, Paris refusing to let go after the months of separation, but Rory promised her food in the morning, and she easily retreated up the steps. Doyle had begun a conversation with her about something mundane that Jess didn't care in the slightest for, so he tuned them out. He was focused on Rory, who now sat stoically on the couch, her knees to her chest and a pillow firmly grasped in her hands. Jess stood in front of her, and slowly lowered to her eye level. She looked at him with a great amount of fear in her eyes, and he placed his hand on her cheek. Her arms flew around him, and he rubbed her back.

"Babe, what's wrong?" He pulled back slightly to see her face. Rory shook her head, and pulled him towards the stairs. He followed willingly, hoping he knew where this was going. It didn't go where he thought when they completely bypassed their room to go into Lola's. Rory quickly scooped up her sleeping baby, cradling her in her arms like she was hurt. Jess's eyes widened in fear. "Is, is there something wrong with Lola?" He asked, now completely distraught as he thought about their daughter possibly being sick.

Rory shook her head, tears welled her eyes. Jess's fears weren't calmed. "Please, dear Lord, tell me there's nothing wrong with Lena either." He whispered, more fears clouding his thoughts as he came up with crazy scenarios about Lena being hurt or sick or something horrible. Once again, Rory shook her head. She placed Lola back in her crib and found solace in Jess's arms. "Babe, please tell me what's wrong." He begged, fingers tangling in her hair, shoulders bending forward as he moved to place his head in the crook of her neck, his lips trailing kisses up to her jaw in an attempt to calm or allure her.

She turned her face upward to give him better space to nibble on her neck because it was calming, knowing he was there and that he loved her. She felt the ring on her finger twist when she clasped her hands together around Jess's neck. "Jess, I have something important to tell you," she gasped out when he sucked on her neck in the most perfect spot. He stopped what he was doing and pulled her from the nursery. She fell against his body, unable to hold herself with the weight of this possible secret she held. He picked her up bridal style, and her arms once again found his neck. Her head lay on his shoulder, and he kicked open the door to their room.

Rory kicked off her clothes before drawing out a big t-shirt of Jess's that he had bought oversized on accident, but she knew he had on purpose to wear before giving it to her so that she could wear his shirts without pajama pants that made her feel trapped. He stared at her. She was up on her knees now, swaying on the queen-sized bed. She looked like she might faint, and Jess stood ready to keep her from harming anything vital.

"I-I think I'm pregnant," she finally whispered.


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: Ok! Here's the next chapter. It's kinda long, but I think you guys deserved a long chapter after all that time I left you hanging. Also, I totally wrote this in like a day. I've decided to post this tonight cause I don't want to in the morning, and I mean it's close enough. Still feels odd updating two stories in one day. Hey go read Jane if you haven't yet! Ok, I'm done now. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and please review! Have a happy Sunday/Monday, good luck with your weeks!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

The shock settled in before the elation. Had he heard her right? Was his hearing messed up? Had she really just said that? So many thoughts flew through Jess's mind, he didn't know whether to be happy or worried. Rory was still sitting up on her knees in front of him, her face beginning to crumple. She looked at him with glassy eyes, and he became nervous. But there was a small part of him that was happy, excited.

"A-are you sure?" He searched her visage for any hint of a possible joke or affirmation. She breathed in deeply, sat down when her thighs no longer had the ability to hold her up. She lightly laid her head against the bedframe; none of this calmed Jess's lingering fears.

"No," she croaked. Her exhale sounded more like a laugh. Her hand flew to her forehead, digging the base of her palm into the space between her eyebrows. "I don't know." Jess sat beside her on the bed, he still wasn't getting it.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?" He sounded sort of frustrated, but not with her. He was never really frustrated with her. "Cause from what I've heard, you either are or you're not." His hand squeezed at her ankle sweetly. Rory rubbed her palm into her eyes, then ran her hands up towards her hair. She just shook her head uncontrollably.

"I just don't know," she muttered, a sob catching in her throat. "All of the symptoms, they were explainable. I was nauseous from the paint fumes, I was hungry cause of all the physical activity that came with cleaning the house. It all made sense! Then, then I wanted an apple. I don't like apples, I have never liked apples. Except, for the entire nine months I was pregnant with Lola, I wanted nothing else but apples. There's no other explanation." Rory was sure that was what it was. She looked to Jess, who was now biting at his lip in thinking mode. She shifted to an upright position and placed herself at his side, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Ha-have you taken a test?" He inquired, finally coming to reality when she touched him. She shook her head. All the possible answers pointed to her being pregnant, she hadn't even thought to take one. "Do you, uh, want to go get one? Or six?" he asked when she didn't respond.

Rory hesitated. She needed to know, but the only other people in the house were Paris and Doyle, and Rory would never entrust her children into their care. "The babies are sleeping… What if they wake up, and Paris and Doyle have no clue how to take care of themselves let alone two babies…" She bit down on her lip, unsure of whether to risk it or just wait until the morning.

"I can go," Jess offered. Rory nodded slowly. She was too stressed thinking about the possibility of being pregnant that all rational thinking had been thrown out the window. "Ok, well, I'll be back in a few." Jess rose and kissed Rory's temple. Picking up his keys from the bedside table, Jess retreated from the room.

He cringed when the garage door creaked loudly, and he saw Rory's silhouette in their bedroom window. After he'd seated himself behind the wheel, Jess exhaled loudly. Then a smile crept across his face, and he was unable to contain it. Rory might be pregnant. With his kid. He knew if she was then it would be more stressful than that first week with Lena, but this was them. They would possibly have a kid of their own. He wanted them to have a kid of their own.

The smile was still present on his face as he strode into Walmart. Walking back to the health section, he stopped and picked up a few diapers because they were always in need of them. Maybe even more so now. When he came upon the pregnancy tests, Jess had no idea how many there actually were. It seemed like every single one claimed to be the earliest and most accurate, so he just grabbed three off the shelf before going to the checkout.

The cashier eyed him with both diapers and a pregnancy test probably thinking that they were busy, but Jess didn't let it dampen his mood. He was just thinking about those first times he had held his daughters, and how maybe there would be another to hold, another to love, another to talk about how great its mother was. Swiping the bags, Jess tried to not burst into a run as he waved to the greeter. He looked ridiculous with the extra spring in his step, but this was a big moment. It didn't matter the timing; he was excited.

If there was one thing he had learned since December, it was that Jess loved being a father. His two little girls were the most amazing things in his life, and he wouldn't trade them for the world. Living with Rory had opened up so many possibilities and had changed him for the better. He was an even better man because of his fiancée. Just thinking about their future made him feel out of character and excited. She was it for him, she was what made him whole, she was the reason for their family. They had plenty of love to go around, why not add one more?

Jess hadn't even realized he was home until he pulled into his drive way. The house was still dark, but the light in the kitchen was on where Rory would obviously be sitting in silence sipping a cup of coffee. He clutched the bag in his hands and opened the garage door. Rory shot up from her place at the table, her coffee splattering as it hit the wood, her hands shaking as she reached for the bag he had brought. Jess handed it over, watching her with curious eyes. She stared at him the bag shaking in her grasp.

"I'm scared," she whispered. The whole-time Jess hadn't even thought about how this situation would weigh on her. While he was excited, she was probably unable to comprehend having another baby at this time. She spent all day with their daughters, she stayed up later to finish her online classes, she cooked, she cleaned, she did everything around the house. Adding another baby to the mix would only stress her out more. He went to work every day, not worrying about how everything would be going at home.

Rory stepped closer to him, the tests and bag still rattling in her hands. Her eyes were filled with tears, and he placed his palm on her cheek. When a stray tear fell, he whipped it away with his thumb. "I'm scared," she repeated. He nodded, pulling her forward into his chest. His excitement had fled the moment she uttered those words. She sniffed and ran her hand under her eyes. "I have to pee." When she sniffed again, he chuckled.

She opened the bag, pulling out the three packs. She looked down at them then to him. She clutched them tighter, a determined glint in her eyes. She nodded, still staring down at the tests. He rubbed her arms and placed a kiss on her forehead before following her upstairs. She strutted into the master bathroom, her face dropping with each step. Rory was really scared. She hoped with all her might that she wasn't pregnant, but felt guilty when she did. She glanced over her shoulder to see Jess sitting on their bed, his hands on his knees, his lips down in grimace.

Shutting the door, Rory stared at the tests with anger. She didn't need or want this right now. She wanted another baby in the future. Not while she had an eight-month-old and a two-month-old sleeping soundly down the hall. Rory practically ripped open the first package, but stopped when she heard Lena cry out. She opened the door to find Jess gone, and a few moments later Lena stopped. This was why she didn't need another baby right now.

With the house quiet once again, she pulled out the test. She didn't need to read the directions, but she did just to stall. Her hand shook as she looked at the test preparing herself mentally before taking it. With the first one done, she placed it on the sink and grabbed another one. Rory had to be one hundred percent positive—with Lola she had taken at least ten over the course of an entire week just to be safe. She then placed the second one on the counter. She quickly washed her hands and scrambled out of the bathroom, leaving the tests on the sink.

Jess returned, and noting her spot on the bed looked at her quizzically. "I haven't looked yet," Rory mumbled, not even meeting his gaze. When she felt the bed dip, she spoke again, "It's probably time to look. I didn't want to do it alone." She sounded so unlike herself. No longer was his confident fiancée, but in her place was this meek twenty-two year old college drop out. She was still shaking. Jess rested his hand on her knee, causing her to look at him finally. They both nodded.

She stood in the doorway, afraid to make another move towards the sink. Her heart was racing, and her breath was erratic at best. She gulped large gulps when Jess maneuvered around her to look at the tests on the counter. Rory's calms were not feared when a confused look crossed her fiancé's visage. He looked at her, eyebrows furrowed as he thought. He still said nothing, and it finally forced her over to the sink.

Rory's heart stopped when she looked at the first one. In all caps it read: 'PREGNANT.' Her world stopped, and she began hyperventilating. Jess ran his hand down her cheek, trying to bring her back to reality. She calmed down enough to look at the other one, and she stared at it. This one read; 'NOT PREGNANT,' in all caps. Both tests had different results, and that might have been worse than an actual answer. She stammered, unsure of what to say. Jess still watched her.

Rory kicked him out again before ripping open another box. It didn't make sense. She was either pregnant or she wasn't. Why weren't the tests working? The world was spinning when she stood up again to place two more tests on the counter after disposing of the first two. The door busted open, and Jess was standing there waiting for her answer. She flew into his arms, trying to not cry. This didn't help her fears at all. It only made her even more scared.

He held her for a few minutes, running his hands through her hair, kissing her when she began to freak out. Jess dragged her over to the sink, but Rory refused to look at the new set of tests. He sighed, still staring at them confusedly. When she didn't hear him speak, Rory looked at them. Her heart plummeted when she saw two more indecisive tests laying there. Rory let out an annoyed shout and hit the counter, sending the pregnancy tests flying.

She stomped and shouted like a little kid, and she began crying again. Nothing was going to calm her down while on this rampage. "No!" she shouted, finding her head resting against Jess's shoulder. She pounded her fists into his chest, anger eating at her entire being. "No! This is supposed to tell me!" Her scream was muffled by his shoulder.

"Rory!" Jess shouted when she tried to escape his grasp. She kept fighting him, kicking and slapping at everything. "Rory, stop. You're gonna wake the babies and Paris and Doyle." He pulled her down to the floor. She had stopped trying to destroy everything in her wake and was now crying into his neck. He held her firmly in his lap, wanting to take away her troubles. "Babe, I'm so sorry."

He didn't need to apologize, she knew that, but it made her quiet down in the least. He kept kissing her crown and murmuring in her ears and it made her feel good. When she calmed down enough, he placed his finger under her chin and pushed her face up towards his. "I love you, and I will love you no matter what. I won't be angry if you are or aren't pregnant, and I won't be angry if you're scared. I love you, and I believe in you, and you're the best mother ever. If we're meant to have another one, then we'll have another one, but I want you to know how much I love you." His assurance brought peace. She had finally stopped crying.

"I love you, too," she whispered, staring into his eyes. She brought her finger up to his lips, and he sweetly pecked it before holding her tighter and rocking them on the tiled bathroom floor. Rory placed her face in the crook of Jess's neck, reveling in his warmth. She loved this man. There was no denying how much she loved and admired him. She hadn't realized they fell asleep until the morning light flitted through the window, and her neck had a strong knot in it. Jess stirred, and placed a kiss on her lips.

"I still love you," he smirked before pulling them to their feet. Together they stood in the bathroom, wrapped tightly in each other's embrace, but Rory's sight landed on those four indecisive pregnancy tests, and her stomach plummeted once again.

 **XXX**

Later that morning, Rory had found a minute to herself and set up an appointment. The times were flexible, and she had even gotten an appointment for that day. Still, though, worry gripped at her as she dialed Jess's number.

"Hello?" a horribly accented, female voice came over the line. "I'm sorry who's calling?" the voice continued to talk even though Rory hadn't spoken a word.

In the background, rustling was heard, and Jess's annoyed voice shouted, "Cam! Get off my phone!" which made Rory smile. She had known that it had to be Cam playing a joke on her, but in her current mental state, Rory hadn't caught the tale tell signs of her friend. Jess finally got ahold of the phone, and Rory relaxed a bit.

"I have an appointment with the doctor today. I just thought I should tell you." She fiddled with the hem of her shirt, wondering if she would still be able to wear it in a few months. Over the past couple hours, her hands had also been finding their way to her stomach which was still flat and nauseous from her nerves.

"That was fast, um, do you want me to come with you?" Jess swatted away Cam when the conversation turned serious.

"Uh, do you want to come?" She heard movement, and quickly turned around hoping that Paris wasn't listening in.

"Kinda, but if you don't want me to…" Why were they being this awkward? They were engaged for Pete's sake, engaged couples don't walk on glass like this.

"No, no. I kinda wanted you to, too. I just wasn't sure about Truncheon, and you know…"

"Oh, yeah, it's fine. Do you want me to bring Cam over to watch Lola and Lena while we're gone?"

"Uh," Rory hadn't thought about that. "Well, I think Paris might get offended when she finds out about Cam. Maybe we should give her a chance to babysit for an hour or two."

"If you think that's a good idea," Jess joked, wondering how it would go over with Paris and Doyle handling two babies. "What time should I come home?"

"Um, I'm scheduled for four. Be home by three forty-five?" Rory felt awkward. It was weird, and she didn't like it. Jess nodded on the other end, but she couldn't see it.

"Ok, I'll be home then." He paused before saying, "I love you, Ror. No matter what happens today."

"I love you, too." She paused as well. "Jess, I'm still scared."

"It'll be alright. I'll see you at three forty-five." When he hung up, Rory was finally able to breathe again. She clutched her phone to her chest and slowly walked back into the living room. Her face was flushed, and Paris made a side comment about phone sex which only made her blush deeper.

She began counting the minutes until Jess got home, so they could go to the doctor's appointment. At least Paris was willing the babysit, claiming she needed bond with her goddaughter. Rory was still unsure of how she got the notion into her head, but if this kept up, Paris would be Lola's godmother whether she was baptized or not. After that long conversation, the appointment was minutes away. (Who knew how long Paris could talk about being a godmother and babysitting?)

When the garage opened, Rory jumped like she had been electrocuted. Jess walked in to find Paris not scarring his daughters for life, and Rory ushered him out the door. She couldn't wait any longer, she had to know. The entire car ride her leg bounced, and when Jess placed his hand on her knee, the other one started bouncing. He noticed the way she tentatively touched her stomach, and he wondered if she really could be carrying their child in there. When she felt his gaze, she quickly removed her hand.

Inside the doctor's office, the strong smell of antiseptic made Rory suppress a gag. All around them women with different sized stomachs sat with their husbands or respective others. A teenager was spotted in the corner, her arms protectively covering her small bump. Rory felt Jess's arm go around her shoulder, and she hugged her own arms around her flat stomach. Jess's hand fell, and brushed lightly over her wrist that was guarding her stomach. If she was pregnant, at least she had Jess.

"Rory Mariano," a nurse in bright scrubs called. Jess watched as Rory blushed when they called her name. She had forgotten that she had used his last name hoping it would make her feel a bit better. Now, she felt foolish when she tugged on Jess's arm to beckon him forward. The room they were placed in smelled even stronger of antiseptic, and Rory took the seat closest to the trash can in case she really needed to throw up. This did nothing to disprove her theory of being pregnant.

Jess's hand ran up and down her spine, giving her the chills. But, his hand stopped abruptly when the doctor entered and startled him.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Sarah Jane Smith," she said, and held out her hand. Rory and Jess stood, and Rory worried how sweaty her palm had to be. They took another seat, and Dr. Smith pulled up her chart. "Now, you're just in for a blood test?" She questioned, even though the paper was right in front of her.

Rory nodded quickly, and Jess squeezed her hand in assurance. "Uh, yeah… the home pregnancy tests were both positive and negative." She explained, awkwardly.

"Alright. Would this be your first baby, if you're pregnant?" she asked, believing it to be true with their young ages.

"No, um, we have two daughters. Eight months and two months. One's his and one's mine." Rory pointed between the two of them when Dr. Smith stared at them quizzically. Even with the odd explanation, Dr. Smith still looked confused. "It's a long story, but no, this would not be our first baby if I'm pregnant."

"Well, ok," Dr. Smith stood. "I'm going to send a nurse in to come do your blood work, and we should have the results within twenty-four hours. It was lovely meeting you." When the doctor left, a few minutes passed before a nurse came in.

"Ok, Mrs. Mariano, if you would just pull your sleeve up," the nurse smiled, holding a rather large needle. Rory's eyes grew wide as she lifted her sleeve, and Jess quickly came to her side to hold her hand. He tried to distract her by kissing her temple and cheeks, but she still squeaked when the needle pierced her skin. "One, two, three. All done! We'll call you when the results get in. Have a nice day!" The overly perky nurse left, and Rory sunk against Jess's chest.

The car ride was silent, and Jess pulled over at a nearby Starbucks to get something for Rory to eat since the cookie they had given her did nothing. They were about to turn onto their street when Rory slapped Jess. "Stop the car!" she yelled. "I think I'm gonna puke!" She grabbed the bag that was used for trash and threw open her door before hurling into the Walmart bag. It started and didn't stop, so Jess eased her into the seat and pulled her hair back into a pony tail as best as he could. He started the car again, and she continued to throw up into the bag which was beginning to get rather full.

When the car pulled up to the house, Rory thrust open the door and threw up all over the drive way. The bag had gotten too full, and Jess quickly disposed of it into the trash can. He grabbed another Walmart bag from inside the garage, and she leaned against him for support to get into the house. Inside, she rushed to the downstairs bathroom still holding the puke filled bag. She then lay beside the toilet, grabbing onto the sides of the porcelain bowl like it was her purpose in life. Jess took the second discarded Walmart bag out to the garbage.

He returned to find Rory no longer puking, but she still clung to the toilet bowl. Her forehead was wet with sweat, and her skin burned. She had lost all of her strength and laid on the floor. Jess lay down beside her, bringing her into a spooning position. She moaned in pain, her hand placed on her stomach. "I just can't be pregnant, I can't." He heard her whisper, hand rubbing up and down her stomach. "Please don't let me be pregnant."

If they had been married for a while and the girls were older, Jess probably would have been offended at her reaction, but he understood with the circumstances. They were in their early twenties, and they had two young babies that needed them constantly. He did want a kid of their own, but maybe now wasn't the time. Especially if this was Rory's initial reaction to it. Finally, Rory's breathing evened out, and she succumbed to sleep. The second time she had fallen asleep on the bathroom floor.

She woke again five minutes later to throw up. She laid back down, crying more each time she heaved. "I'm sorry, Jess. I can't be pregnant." She repeated like a broken record. But each time she told him, her hand would go to her stomach. She rubbed at it, unsure whether a person was growing or not. Every time she said pregnant, her hand would rub a nonexistent belly. She wanted a baby, but she didn't want a baby now. Each time she threw up, her odds seemed worse and worse.

Eventually, she had nothing left to bring up, and Rory turned into Jess's body. She wrapped her arms around his torso and tangled their legs together as sobs coursed through her. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She sobbed and placed light kisses on his chest. He held the base of her neck, placing his chin on her crown. She folded into a fetal position, and Jess curled around her, trying to protect her from anything and everything.

Rory stilled, and Jess picked her up. He carried her bridal style to their room, preparing her for bed. She had worn herself out, and she didn't wake when Jess undressed her and placed her under the covers. He kissed her brow, cheeks, and neck before softly shutting the door. How had he not seen the way she felt? She had been scared to tell him about a possibility, but she seemed worse now. Jess rubbed his eyes, tired even though it was only seven. Rory had been throwing up for two and a half hours, and Paris and Doyle were still nowhere to be seen.

Jess sat at the kitchen table, head in his hands, coffee in front of him. His eyes stung with unshed tears, refusing to allow them to fall as he thought about his sleeping fiancée. He knew her freak out had nothing to do with him, but he still felt horrible for his excitement last night when she was clearly upset. But, he respected the way she felt. She had so much on her plate, and she didn't need another baby to add to her stress. He now hoped she wasn't pregnant too. He didn't want her to go through that, he didn't want her to deal with three young children, he didn't want her to regret their relationship because they got too caught up in their kids. He loved her, and he wanted what she wanted. If she didn't want to be pregnant, he hoped to God that she wasn't.

Paris and Doyle entered loudly, and Jess quickly explained that Rory was sick and needed her rest. For once, the couple quieted and offered to go stay in a hotel. Jess thought that might be best, and they were nice enough to pack up their things and go. He then took the girls up to their rooms to get them ready for their bedtime. Lena fell asleep first, so Jess spent a few moments with Lola in her rocking chair in her room.

"Princess, you have no idea how much we love you." He kissed her blonde hair, rubbing her soft baby back. "Mommy loves you too, but she's sick, so it's just Daddy tonight. But I love you more than your first daddy. He wasn't all that good, but if Mommy hadn't been with him, we wouldn't have you. And your little sister, Lena, she's gonna love you and look up to you. I want you two to be best friends, but I know that's asking a lot from sisters. Oh, Lola, we love you so much." At that point, Lola had fallen asleep as well, and Jess returned to his room.

Inside the master bedroom, Rory was sitting up with her knees pulled to her chest. She flinched when the door opened, and she stared at Jess in the doorway. "Babe," her voice was raspy and tired. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I don't want to be pregnant. I do want to have a baby with you, but I can't deal with three babies at once. I do want to have another baby, but I don't want one now. I don't want you thinking that I don't want to have a baby with you because it has been what I've been dreaming about for a long time, but now's not a good time. I'm sorry I hope I'm not pregnant." She was crying again. Guilt was eating at her because she thought he was mad at her for not wanting a baby with him.

Jess marched to the couch and swept her up. He carried her to one of the chairs in the lofty thing and held her so close that their foreheads were touching. "It's ok that you hope you're not pregnant. I want us to have a baby together someday too, but I don't want you to be upset about it. I love what we have going for us. We have two amazing little girls, and at the moment, I'm happy with that; but if you're pregnant, I'd be happy too. Tomorrow, they call us and tell us if the time is right or wrong."

She nodded, tears filling her eyes again. Tomorrow. Tomorrow they would know.

As the night wore on, sleep eluded Rory. Her mind raced thinking about the results tomorrow would bring. She felt Jess subconsciously place his warm hand on her abdomen, and she placed hers on top of his. She loved him so much right now, and he was just amazing in so many ways. Although Rory had Jess's warmth, she still couldn't drift off into sleep. She didn't even sleep fitfully, which would have been more pleasant than not sleeping at all.

When the sun's rays burned into her semi-closed eyes, Rory finally stopped trying to sleep. She fidgeted under Jess's weight, but scooted closer as the morning wore on. He was a deep sleeper, and she liked to watch him when he was in this peaceful state. She would trace a trail along his face until he woke up and he would smile at her with his crooked smile that still made her stomach flutter. This was when a complete and total peace would overtake her.

Jess took the day off of work so he could spend it with his girls. Really, he wanted to keep an eye on Rory and be home when she got the call. They read, played, watched TV, cooked trying to get their minds off the impending call. At five, the phone rang, and Rory stared dumbly at Jess. She still had Lena in her arms when she picked up the phone with a tentative hand. She listened intently, bouncing the baby up and down to keep her from fussing. Her eyes widened, and Jess wondered what they had said. Rory hung up quickly, breathing in deeply with relief.

"I'm not pregnant," she told Jess when he looked at her worriedly. Her hand went to her stomach, though, and her serene smile slowly changed to a frown. "I'm not pregnant."

"Give it a few years, we've got plenty of time to practice," Jess chuckled as he pulled her into a hug.

"Yeah, a few years." She was now smiling again. They could have their own baby in a few years, but now they had their smiling excitable daughters. Rory placed a loving kiss on Lena's head. She was fine waiting a few years, even more so when Lola knocked over a water bottle in her attempts to stand up.

 **AN 2: Did you really think I was gonna make her pregnant? No, I think that would have been way too much, just a little bit of drama that only strengthens Lit as a couple. Man, just imagine them having a baby together, like their own. So cute! Hoped you enjoyed it and please review if you did, or if you didn't I'm cool either way.**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: I said I would never do this, but guys, I'm skipping ahead. Not much, just a few months… I just had to skip ahead, I had nowhere to go with the girls being that young… Well, yeah. OH and BTW the songs in this are by Sam Phillips, the one and only who scored the best show in the world Gilmore Girls! So, yeah… the song in this chapter was in the show. I am also posting this a day early, so I don't post Jane and this on the same day. Anyway, enjoy, and please review! Have a happy weekend!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Rory heard the baby monitor, but she didn't want to get up. She had Jess's strong arms around her, and she just wanted to stay spooning forever. She rolled over, watching as Jess's eyes fluttered open with the sound of their oldest. He slowly took his arm away from her waist, but Rory slapped his hand back down. "No," she moaned. "Give her a minute, she'll go back to sleep."

"Ror, it's seven. Lola's not gonna go back to sleep," he said with a yawn. Rory grumbled as she pressed her face into the crook of Jess's neck. His hands trailed lightly around her back, and she shivered from his touch. When he tried to move, she wrapped her legs around him, forcing him to stay in his position. Jess rolled over onto his back while Rory straddled him to keep him in place when he had tried to move again. The blanket fell from her shoulders, and even with the heat on their room was freezing.

Rory's teeth chattered, and she instead lay down on top of her fiancé, pulling the blanket around them. She hummed in content when his arms found their way around her again, instilling even more warmth. He breathed in her scent, pomegranate shampoo and coconut body wash mixed with something that was specifically her, and began nibbling on her ear. Her face heated as his hands found her ass, and his mouth moved to her neck. She gasped out his name when his hand moved up her shirt, and his lips sucked on that perfect spot on her neck.

His hand then found what he was looking for, and Rory suppressed a loud moan as he squeezed her breast. She was beginning to mess with his pajama pants when the second baby monitor elicited a loud cry. "No, Lena. Be like your sister, go back to sleep," she told the baby monitor. It was like Lola could tell Lena was awake and now both girls were wide awake and heard in the monitors.

"We can finish this later." Jess roughly kissed her before heading out their bedroom door. Rory flopped back onto the bed, annoyed that they hadn't gotten anywhere else. It probably didn't help that when Jess, shirtless, returned with Lola clinging to his shoulder only turned her on more. That man sure could handle a baby. He placed a few pillows along the edge of the bed and sat Lola next to Rory before going for Lena.

"Mama!" she exclaimed, pulling herself to a standing position and taking a few tentative steps toward the woman who gave her life. Rory smiled, sweeping her up into her arms and lightly kissing and blowing on her cheeks, causing the baby to squeal excitedly.

"Yes, that's my smart birthday girl." She continued to blow raspberries on her cute little baby tummy. Lola blew her own raspberry, a high-pitched laugh accompanying it. Her smile was incomplete, but adorable, and Rory could watch her daughter smile for hours. At a year, Lola was such a happy little girl, always smiling and getting into trouble. She was still a Daddy's girl as much as ever, but she held a bond with her mother that only Gilmores share. Lola loved Lena, and would spend a good deal of time either staring at or playing with her younger sister.

Rory melted as Lola slunk into her embrace, and she began humming as they rocked back and forth. Often times, Rory would have music playing around the house while cleaning or cooking, and Lola had started humming or babbling with the tunes. " _Buh, buh buh, buh buh buh buh, buh buh buh, buh._ " Rory hummed the first few chords of "Love Changes Everything." Lola hummed too, her hands pulling on her mother's fingers. " _We can't fix what's broken, so let's leave it here and walk on. I'll be right behind you._ "

Rory kissed Lola's blonde locks, wondering how she ever got so lucky. Her smile brightened when her amazing fiancé returned with their other daughter. Lena giggled as Jess bounced her up and down, her little red tongue sticking out between her lips. Lena was now six months old and a more of a Mama's girl. While Jess would read to Lola, Lena would be cuddled in a blanket in Rory's lap while they snuggled in the rocking chair. She loved her daddy, there was no denying it, but Rory had left an impression.

Jess eased himself and Lena onto the bed beside Rory and Lola. When Jess had laid beside them, Lola hopped from her mother's lap and made her way to her father's open arms. She picked up Jess's much bigger hand and placed cute baby kisses on his hand like he did to hers. He smiled, causing Lola to giggle with delight. He then lightly pulled her down and began play munching on her chubby arms, making her shriek happily.

Lena was lying on her stomach, arms and legs twisting quickly in her attempt to move. When she didn't get anywhere, Rory picked her up, placing her in her now vacant lap. Lena's blue eyes watched her father and sister intently, those two were thick as thieves, but they couldn't hold her attention long, and she looked up at her mother's beaming face. Rory watched as Lena's eyes flitted over all of her facial features, wondering what in the world went on inside of babies' heads.

A knock at the door caused the parents' heads to snap up, but it was only Lorelai. "Hey, can you stop being cute for a minute? We've got a party to set up!" She exclaimed, walking over to pick up Lola. "Oh, and get dressed, your grandparents will be here at ten." They all shared worried glances, Emily and Richard Gilmore were going to be in their house before noon.

Jess jumped up, grabbing Lola back from Lorelai, shouting, "Let's go people, the judgmental express gets here at ten!"

"Hey, that's my line!" Lorelai shouted after him as he rushed towards Lola's room.

 **XXX**

Despite the cold weather, Rory had worn a dress just to make sure her grandmother didn't mention anything about her attire. She did, but it was probably better than if Rory had worn jeans and a nice shirt like the original plan. But now, she could feel Jess's eyes burning a hole through her dress. She tried to distract herself with what felt like every resident of Stars Hollow who had made the trip down for Lola's first birthday party, but nothing could keep these thoughts out of her mind. Especially not when Jess looked at her hungrily over as she played good hostess.

Rory made her way over to the corner where Lane was talking to Miss Patty, each holding one of the twins. "How can you wear that dress?" Lane asked noting the tightness of the dress her best friend wore. "I have been trying to work off this weight for months, and it's still not gone. Here you come looking just as good as you did before Lola, and I know you've had a year, but you didn't need a year to bounce back. You took like a week!"

"Yes, but you had two babies inside of you while I had one. And I'm a Gilmore, when have we ever been normal?" She joked, placing a discarded cup into a strategically placed trashcan.

"Yeah. I mean you're engaged to your ex-boyfriend who's not the father of your child, and then you find out he has a kid too, and you just said, 'the more the merrier.'" She kidded, taking a sip of whatever adult beverage Lorelai had put out. Rory shook her head, ignoring the knowing 'tut-tut' from Miss Patty.

"You know, dear," Miss Patty interrupted. "Jess has just been staring at you like a piece of meat. Have you two been getting a healthy amount of alone time?" She quirked an eyebrow, and Rory blushed. "Oh, I couldn't even imagine how heated it must get between the two of you." She continued, and Rory had to excuse herself before it got too graphic, and any ethics she had about going off from her daughter's first birthday party to have a quicky would go out the window.

All her ethics went out the window.

She saw him standing by Cam, Lena securely wrapped in his arms, and he looked so damn hot. Rory couldn't contain herself. She sashayed over to his side, her hand running through his hair as she brought his ear down to her lips. "Give the baby to my mom. If we're fast, we can be back before cake and presents." His eyes widened, and he smirked. He didn't take the time to find Lorelai; instead, Jess handed Lena to Cam, who knew exactly what they were doing.

"You get a head start so we don't look suspicious." He slapped her ass as she hurried up the stairs making excuses to the guests about needing a baby thing. Jess was a bit slower in his ascension. He caught a couple glances, mumbled a few greeting, and finally excused himself by mentioning his very important gift for Lola upstairs. No one questioned him being a "doting father" going to get his daughter's first birthday gift.

He had barely opened the door before Rory attacked him with her lips. She was quick already slipping out of her dress as he worked on his shirt's buttons. She was now stripped down to her underwear and working on getting his pants off before anyone became suspicious of them being gone. He didn't help much from the way he was trying to hold her up against the door and distracting her from the task at hand.

She finally undid the belt, and he picked her up so that her legs were around his waist. He threw her down onto the bed, quickly climbing on top of her. He was leaving a trail of kisses down her chest, and he nuzzled the space between her breasts. "Jess!" She whispered. "We h-have to hurr-ry!" she ground out as he undid her bra and began toying with her.

They stopped abruptly when they heard voices outside their room. Rory quickly grabbed the covers to throw over themselves so they could finish what they started. She wasn't going to be denied her fiancé a second time today. She liked what was going on here, even though they were engaged and had totally had sex before, it seemed almost forbidden with so many people downstairs at their daughter's birthday party.

"I love you," Jess sighed, heatedly kissing her while they got dressed.

"Don't, or I'll never leave this room, and we'll miss our daughter's first birthday." She was standing in the mirror trying to look like she hadn't just had sex while her guests mingled. She had redone her makeup, and she had thought about ironing her dress to look less disheveled. But, her hair and makeup were fine, a few wrinkles wouldn't turn everyone's heads.

Rory wanted to leave at different times, but Jess had just followed her like a lovesick puppy; his arm lazily draped around her, and his face in her hair. Now, everyone would know exactly what they had done. If they hadn't already figured it out. The pointed looks she earned from Miss Patty, Cam, and her mother proved that they hadn't done too well at keeping their tryst a secret.

"Cake time!" Rory exclaimed when everyone was watching her waiting for an announcement of her having sex with her fiancé. Sookie had made the cake, and it was book themed (go figure) with mint green frosting and a cream cheese filling. When Rory had called, she wasn't sure whether her mom's best friend would be up to it, but Sookie had said she had been planning this cake since Rory announced her pregnancy. Then Sookie had made a side comment about waiting for the next announcement to plan the one after Lena's.

The large group all gathered around Lola's high chair, and Babette and Miss Patty's rendition of "Happy Birthday" seemed to frighten and entertain Lola as the piece of cake with a candle was placed in front of her. Rory and Jess were on both sides of her, laughing when Lola got scared of the small number one candle in front of her. When Lola tried to make an escape (completely impossible escape), Jess blew out the candle quickly so the rest of the party could eat cake. Lola was almost immediately covered in icing and chocolate cake and cream cheese filling, but she was enjoying it. Lorelai had snapped a great amount of pictures that would forever be used to embarrass the girl.

All the guests were contently watching Jess, Rory, Lola, and Lena while enjoying their cake. The family was made up of their hoodlum and princess and their two delicious, as Patty and Babette called them, baby girls; that was the main reason for the entire town coming when the town gossips heard Lorelai and Lane talking about the party. They adored watching the family interact; it was more entertaining than their soap operas. Even the most mundane things like cleaning their oldest when she was dirty from sweets. It took some time, but Lola was somewhat cake free—they had held off on the ice cream because if she was going to be messy with cake, who knew what ice cream would bring.

Rory hugged Lola close while the procession moved from the kitchen to the living room that was filled with presents for the one-year-old. Jess had convinced Luke to set up a fire before he had gone to meet Rory in their room, and the living room was filled with warmth. Snow was beginning to fall softly outside the large windows, and the girls were mesmerized. Not even ripping open wrapping paper could bring Lola as much joy as watching the pure, sugar-like flakes make a small pile on the back deck. Lena would watch for a moment before getting distracted and tugging at her grandmother's necklace or hair.

"This one's from me and Luke and April!" Lorelai called above the noise, throwing a small box with her unoccupied hand. Jess easily caught it, handing the package to Rory, who tried to gain enough of Lola's attention to get her to open it. Her brown eyes were transfixed on the snowflakes that seemed to change color as the sky grew darker and the porch lights illuminated them. She held her arms out to the window, but Rory brought her back to the gift from Luke and Lorelai.

When Lola couldn't focus enough to open it herself, Rory and Jess began ripping at the newspaper her mother had used as wrapper paper because she thought it looked cute and artsy. Rory pulled out the gift, cracking up. She held up a small baseball cap identical to Luke's, and the guests roared then awed as the hat was placed on Lola's blonde head. Her parents kissed both of her cheeks at the same time in hopes to recreate the _Full House_ picture, but failed when Lola turned her head to give a single kiss to each parent.

It took another hour to open presents; partially from the sheer number and partially because Lola kept getting distracted with the snow and cameras and chatter of guests. However, the snow had finished falling, and Lena was peacefully sleeping in Emily's arms while Lola's eyes were drooping as Jess propped her against his shoulder.

"Rory," Emily beckoned her granddaughter to take her great-granddaughter. When she handed over the baby, Emily's attitude did a complete one-eighty. "Now, Rory, dear, you should know as well as anyone that leaving your own daughter's birthday party to pull a quick one with your fiancé is not how a proper hostess should act."

"I'm sorry, Grandma," Rory mumbled.

"You should be. When we couldn't find you, your mother began making offhand comments and doing horrible impersonations to entertain the crowd. It is not your mother's horrible job, it is yours—the hostess's. Now, as it is getting rather late, your grandfather and I shall be returning to Hartford. It was lovely seeing you, dear." The two embraced awkwardly, and Emily went to retrieve Richard from discussing literature with Jess.

One by one, the guests headed back to their respective houses, or towns, and Rory and Jess were alone. She held an opened trash bag as she scooped up the wrapping paper. Jess came up behind her, tacking the bag from her hands and dropping it onto the floor beside the couch. She tried to glare at him, but her attempt was futile once he wrapped his arms around her. Together, they swayed in the firelight, and Jess placed a loving kiss on her parted lips. Her hands found his neck, and they moved upward, combing through his hair.

They moved to the couch, growing more passionate. Finally, Rory pulled away, grimacing. "I have to clean," she said, looking around the trashed living room. Jess smiled, pulling her in for another mind-blowing kiss. She grinned as the kiss progressed, no longer caring about the dirty house. "I guess it can wait until tomorrow." She pulled away, looking into his lust filled eyes.

Jess stood up, taking his warmth away, and Rory was disappointed. But he then gathered her in his arms bridal style, returning his lips to hers, and she was content. She couldn't help but think of how perfect their life was as he carried her up to their room and shut the door. Really perfect.


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: I skipped ahead again… I really hate myself, but I feel like it's time to move on. There can still drama and love and stuff as I move ahead. Of course, there will be, Idk… probably either gonna skip until I find a place I like or I'm gonna just keep skipping every chapter. I think I might just kinda go around for a few years, write a few chapters in those years, and then maybe skip ahead again. I don't want to make this like a thousand chapters, but I want to get into the future, ya know? I might just stay here for a little while cause I do like this area… Idk.. also so sorry about that wait! I have been really busy and I'm on spring break, so I have and don't have time at the exact same time! Well, I hope you enjoy this! Have a great week, and please review!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Time flew by too quickly, Rory thought as she sat at the kitchen table one September morning. In the living room her the two-year-old daughters were playing in good view of their mother. Her and Jess's wedding was quickly approaching. He was keeping true to his word; and in an odd fashion, they were getting married at 4:03 on October 8, the minute she would be turning twenty-five. She continued to munch on her pumpkin bread, listening intently when the girls grew the slightest bit quiet.

She was able to breathe again when Lola giggled causing Lena to giggle. It was never good when her two toddlers became quiet, almost always foreshadowing something awful. The girls were quickly taking on Jess's rambunctious streak, and Rory was in constant fear of what they would do next. Too many times has she had to put them in time out or had to take care of whatever odd scrape they had now gotten. But, they did everything together, and that made the punishing and nursing a little bit worth it. Rory had hoped when they took Lena in that one day the girls would get along, and now they were best friends.

After being one-hundred percent sure that neither of her daughters were going to harm themselves, Rory pulled out her laptop to begin some work. She had been writing her own book as per Jess's suggestion. After finishing her online school, Rory had tried to find work as a journalist, but everything either kept her from home too much or needed her to move far away which she was not willing to do. For a while she had worked for an online newspaper, but it wasn't that fulfilling, and then one night Jess had brought up the thought of her writing a book. Although writing time was scarce, the hours were good, and her boss (herself) was pretty flexible.

The sound of the garage door opening snapped Rory from her writing induced stupor. She heard the pitter patter of little girl feet as they ran to welcome their daddy home. Jess came into her view, the girls held each in one arm. They looked like total opposites; one with brown hair and blue eyes the other with blonde hair and brown eyes, but as they ran off their pudgy toddler hands grasping the other's tightly. Jess stepped forward, dropping a kiss on his fiancée's forehead.

"Oh, gross!" Cam exclaimed, covering her face with her hands. "You two are all cutesy-wootesy all the time, and it's gross!"

Just to annoy their friend, Jess dipped Rory back and kissed her for a long time while Cam yelled in protest. They continued to be in that position long after Cam had retreated from the room. "You ready?" Jess asked, righting his fiancée. Rory nodded, a blissful smile gracing her visage. He held her hand as they walked out of the house, and he opened the car door for her to which she mocked him.

"Jess, I know how to open a door without hurting myself. Have been doing it for many moons." She smiled as her hand moved towards the radio to change the station. Jess laughed, and her grin grew. "What?"

"You just sound like such a mom," he chuckled. She scrunched up her nose in confusion.

"I am a mom," she reminded him.

"Well, it's just such a mom phrase. Your mom says it, my mom started saying when she heard your mom, Lane says it, and now you. It's just a mom phrase."

"No, I think a mom phrase is 'I'm pregnant' because that is the phrase that actually makes someone a mom."

"Point." They pulled up in front of a doctor's office, and once again Jess grabbed her door for her. Rory stuck out her tongue childishly, and he threw his arm around her shoulder as they walked in. She moved closer to him, burrowing into his hold. They walked up to an unamused secretary who rudely asked for her name.

"Uh, Rory Ma—I mean Gilmore." She blushed, and Jess pressed another kiss to her head. In a few weeks, she would be able to tell people his name, but for now she was still Rory Gilmore. Not like there was anything wrong with being Rory Gilmore, but she was more than ready to be Rory Mariano after the past few years they had been through. The secretary seemed to shoot daggers her way, especially after Jess had begun kissing her cheek as she filled out her paperwork.

They moved to the chairs, and Jess smirked at her as she looked around the waiting room. "What?" she asked, feeling his eyes on her. She didn't even have to be looking in his direction to know he was watching her.

He played with her hands, smiling to himself. "Nothing," he twisted the engagement ring on her finger. "You gonna change your name?" he asked, catching her slightly off-guard, but not too much.

"I was thinking about it. I mean, it would be best if we all had the same last name. Keep from confusing the girls, or anyone else who comes along." Her hand dropped to her stomach, and he smiled brighter. Before he could say anything, a nurse called Rory's name, and the couple eagerly followed.

Inside the exam room, Rory played with her hair nervously. She had last been in this doctor's office more than a year before, and it wasn't under the best of circumstances. Now, though, she was in a state of euphoria instead of a state of distress. She knew that Jess was too when he squeezed her hand. Now was the right time. Their wedding was a few weeks away; the girls were growing; now was the time.

Dr. Smith happily sauntered in; her smile less off-putting this time around. "Congratulations!" she said upon entering the room. "On both the wedding and the baby." She took note of Rory's left ring finger.

"Actually, we've been engaged for about two years. Just finally getting to the wedding and ring parts," Rory laughed playfully nudging Jess, who rolled his eyes whenever she mentioned the tardiness of getting the ring. "I'm kidding, Babe."

"I know," Jess said. "I can always take it back…" He smirked devilishly, and Rory drew her hand close to her body to guard the ring.

"Anyway," Dr. Smith interrupted. "Let's talk about this baby. So, Rory, you're taking your prenatal vitamins, I assume." Rory nodded. "Everything else seems to be doing well… shall we take a look?" The two shared a smile, nodding furiously; well, Rory nodding more furiously than Jess, who gave a slight move of his chin.

Rory watched the monitor, tears spilling out of her eyes. She looked at Jess—completely enraptured with the moments he had missed out on Lena—and her smile grew when they exchanged glances. He wasn't going to cry (she didn't expect him to), but inside a whole myriad of emotions were coursing through him. That thing on the monitor was theirs, all theirs. No one else's.

Neither paid attention as Dr. Smith talked and printed out a few pictures for them. She gave the two of them a moment, mentioning offhandedly about seeing them at the next appointment. When she finally left, Rory let out a noise that sounded a cross between a sob and a laugh. Jess was immediately moving closer, throwing his arms around her. But he started cracking up when she exclaimed, "I'm not gonna fit into my dress!"

"Your mom can alter it," he told her lovingly. She shook her head. "Who cares about the dress?"

"You're only married once," she responded.

"Well…" That was what got him slapped. "Hey, I was gonna say vow renewals, but whatever." His smile was too contagious, and she was still walking on cloud nine.

Life was perfect.

 **XXX**

Life was not perfect. Two weeks had passed, and now it was the morning of their wedding. Most brides-to-be wouldn't have been able to sleep from their excitement. Rory had been throwing up. She had been too excited as of late, and she now remembered all the bad that came with growing a person inside of her. The worst being the morning meetings she had with her toilet. Not to mention they had planned to get married at the exact minute she turned twenty-five; 4:03 was currently her prime puking time.

So, as Rory's morning sickness got worse, they told the town that the time would be moved exactly twelve hours ahead to avoid a horrible mishap. They couldn't have the bride throwing up mid-ceremony, and no one knew yet. Not even Lorelai. They were going to tell everyone at the reception because the town would immediately get suspicious when Rory wasn't drinking at her own reception. Also, they had a cutes-y idea—that Jess had almost shot down—on how to go about with the reveal, but that wasn't happening until that afternoon.

Through it all, Jess had been great. They had actually wanted to go the weird traditional not the seeing the bride on the wedding day, but Rory wasn't going to be able to make it through another early morning bout of sickness without her family catching on. Instead, they were not going to see each other after she left to get ready. That was why they had asked to stay at the apartment above the diner—a perfectly understandable option since their friends were at the inn, and April was in Rory's room—so no one would be suspicious.

As Rory hung onto the side of the toilet bowl, she knew they had made the right decision to stay at Luke's. She was more sick this time around than she could ever have imagined with Lola. Throughout the night, she would switch between sleeping on the bathroom floor and in the bed to only return to the bathroom floor. Each move she made, Jess followed. He rubbed her back, kissed her forehead, held her close, told her it was almost over, did everything to make the night just that much better than how horrible it was.

"Why did we think this was a good idea?" she groaned, placing her cheek against the cool porcelain. Jess shook his head, grunting in response because of the early hour. Rory heard him laugh lightly, and she shot him a glare. "It's your demon spawn in here." She pointed to her stomach, believing him to be laughing at her misfortune.

He shook his head good-naturedly, extending his arm to show her the time. "Happy Birthday, Rory." He kissed her forehead, avoiding her mouth at all costs. Before his lips had left her head, Rory leaned forward over the toilet again, gagging loudly as she threw up what felt like her entire stomach. "Am I that bad of a kisser?" He tried to lighten the mood.

"No, but your bad at putting on a condom." She wiped her mouth, throwing him another glare.

"Thought we planned this one," he responded.

"No, I let you talk me into this one," she muttered, assured that the worst of it had passed. "Never gonna happen again." Rory brought herself to a wobbly standing position, but she stumbled back and crashed against Jess's chest. He wrapped his arms around her to steady her walk back towards the bed. Rory was so exhausted she crumpled into a ball above the comforter, and her breathing was nearly evened out.

"Mama!" Lena shouted from Jess's old room. Rory's eyes snapped open as she sucked in a deep breath. Jess placed his hand on her shoulder, pushing her down, and left the room. On the full sized bed between the two removeable bed rails, Lena was now awake next to a still sleeping Lola. Her little fingers opened and closed as tears streamed down her face.

"Daddy's here, Lee." Jess eased her into his arms. Lena's hands scrunched up the collar of his shirt, and her chin rested on his shoulder. She hiccupped, but had begun to calm down once in Jess's arms. His hand rubbed up and down her little back, and he slowly sank onto the couch. Lena had her short arms now splayed out, reaching Jess's shoulders and squeezing at his baggy shirt some more.

"Daddy," Lena whispered, now beginning to fall asleep. Jess kissed the top of her dark hair, and relished in the moment. Lena was his baby girl; and even though she often called for Rory, nothing could take away the bond of father and daughter. Lena was also the cuddlier of the two girls which Jess had never been one for that with his mother being overly drunkenly affectionate. However, Lena—and to an extent Lola—had snuggled up to him, and he was perfectly happy with that.

When Jess felt Lena grow heavier with the weight of sleep, he began taking her back to his old room. Although, Lena only gripped his shirt tighter while he tried to lay her back down. She whimpered, now awake, and Jess had no other choice than to bring her with him to the bed he was sharing with Rory.

As they walked toward the room, Jess whispered to Lena, "Baby, your Mama's sick, ok? So you gotta be a good girl and not wake her up. But Mama would probably like it if you hugged her." He watched Lena sleepily nod, rubbing her droopy blue eyes with her tiny fists. When he placed her on the bed, Lena curled around Rory's arm. Jess smiled before joining the two out of his three girls. Once he was there, Lena moved a bit closer to him, and Jess easily wrapped her in his strong arms.

A few seconds later, Jess felt Lena's finger on his cheek. "Daddy?" she asked, blue eyes alert. He opened his eyes to see his daughter's face very close to his. "Water?" Jess nodded getting up, but stooping back down when Lena reached her arms towards his. She nestled herself in his arms, and drank heartily when he handed her a sippy cup.

He finally was able to get the two of them back into the big bed that he was sharing with Rory. However, once he and Lena returned, Rory wasn't in sight. Jess heard muffled gagging from the adjacent bathroom. He glanced at the clock and realized it was now five in the morning. If they were lucky, Lena would go back to sleep for an hour or two, but in that same amount of time Lola would be up.

Some wedding this was going to be. The bride was doubled over with morning sickness, the groom had not slept the night before, and the two flower girls were either going to be too full of energy or too tired to make it down the aisle. Jess put Lena back down and headed into the bathroom.

Rory now slept on a pile of towels with her hands holding tightly to her stomach. She felt her fiancé lay down beside her when she stopped throwing up, and she tried to get what little uncomfortable sleep she could get on the bathroom floor.

"At least it's called morning sickness for a reason," Jess laughed; his hands resting above Rory's.

"Which I've been getting well into the afternoon," she told him as she scrambled to a sitting position again. She spit into the toilet for good measure and swatted at his hands when he tried to hold her. "Mom's gonna notice."

"Just drink a bunch of ginger ale and crackers. Call it wedding day jitters. I think she'll believe that." Jess patted the side of the tub where he had moved to when she brushed her teeth.

"You did this to me," Rory mumbled, placing her head on his shoulder.

"You didn't stop me," he replied. If she had more strength, Rory would have slapped him into next week. "Come on," Jess pulled her to a standing position. "We're getting married today, and neither one of us has slept tonight."

Rory hummed happily thinking about their upcoming wedding. She sunk down into the bed for hopefully the final time that morning. As she finally drifted off to sleep, she heard Jess whisper, "Kid, be nicer to your mom." With his hand placed firmly on her abdomen. She liked that.

 **XXX**

For the rest of the day, Rory was careful to stay away from any sight, smell, or food that would make her nausea return. She didn't want her mother to get suspicious because she needed this to be a surprise. Even if that meant squeezing into a snug wedding dress and staying away from all normally delicious foods. She also had to keep from crying, but that was a bit more understandable on a day like today.

"Patty!" Babette yelled. "She needs more makeup. She's looking a little green!" The women were getting ready at Miss Patty's while the men were getting ready at Luke's. Rory wanted to throw her hands up and get the women off of her, but that wasn't what anyone would expect of her on her wedding day. Hearing green, Lorelai came and sat in front of her daughter.

"How's it going, Elphaba?" She joked, bouncing Lola on her legs. Rory groaned, dropping her head in her hands.

"I just want to get this over with. We've been practically married for, like, two years. I don't need a wedding!" Rory exclaimed as she clenched her jaw to hopefully set her returning nausea at bay.

"Babe, you wanted one. You've been so excited for this. What changed?"

"Nothing changed. I'm just really tired. Lena didn't sleep well last night." She told the truth, omitting the whole morning sickness part of it. Lorelai nodded and stood up, Lola trying to bounce herself on her grandmother's hip. They shared a look, but Luke interrupted them from the doorway.

"Uh, time to get this show on the road," he stuttered, smiling at his wife's and step-daughter's beauty (Luke and Lorelai had gotten married the previous year, and no one was happier than Rory). Lola came bounding towards her grandfather after growing tired of Lorelai, and Luke smiled even brighter as he picked up the little girl.

"Alright," Rory continued to clench her jaw, being hit with a wave of nausea when she stood. "Let's go."

The women ushered out of the dance studio, and Rory took hold of Luke's arm. "You okay?" he asked, noticing how tightly she gripped his arm and her tight smile. Rory only nodded, afraid if she spoke it wouldn't be words leaving her mouth. "Well, you look beautiful." When he said that, Rory felt the beginnings of tears pricking at her eyes. Luke was like a father to her (probably more so than her own father who wasn't walking her down the aisle), and she knew that he had been rooting for her and Jess from the very beginning.

When they reached the square, all the townspeople stood, and Rory's eyes locked on Jess's. She didn't let herself focus on anything else beside the man who was going to be her husband in a few short minutes. Then, Luke handed her off, and her smile grew larger while her eyes grew waterier. She heard Jess faintly whisper something to her, but she didn't catch it as Reverend Skinner began speaking.

Frankly, neither one really paid attention to what was going on, and they were more than happy to kiss at the end of the long spiel. They were married, and it had been just like he promised. They walked hand in hand back down the aisle, and everyone followed them to where the reception would be held.

At the front, Jess and Rory sat with their daughters and Luke and Lorelai. Everyone else was placed at different mismatched tables. Surprisingly, Rory was able to get a few things to stay down, and she didn't need to lean on Jess when they cut the cake. She was feeling a lot better than she had that morning which was always a blessing; definitely now, on her wedding day.

Before the dancing could begin, the happy couple stood before all of their friends and family with bright smiles on their faces. "We have an announcement!" Rory shouted into the microphone to get everyone's attention. They shared another smile before turning back to the town. "We're having another baby!"

Then, they got ambushed.


End file.
